


Hearts Desire

by RhydianKnight



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Military, Ass-Kicking, Attempt at Humor, Badass Lexa, Clexa, F/F, F/M, Flirting, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Happy Ending, Last Chapter is Epilogue, Massage Therapist Clarke, Minor trigger warning part 15, Modern AU, Pranks, Shenanigans, Slow Burn, sassiness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:28:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 72,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27532270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RhydianKnight/pseuds/RhydianKnight
Summary: Modern Clexa story where Clarke and Lexa meet at a funeral through a mutual friend. Read about their story and how it comes to be. I claim miniscule knowledge of the military lifestyle and details so dont look too much into it. Im terrible at summaries so please just take a chance on this awesome fic I posted over 4yrs ago and have decided to bring back for everyone to enjoy once more.Clexa is Endgame always.
Relationships: Abby Griffin/Jake Griffin, Anya/Raven Reyes, Clarke Griffin & Lexa, Clarke Griffin/Lexa, Octavia Blake/Lincoln
Comments: 86
Kudos: 382





	1. Chapter 1

“What?!?”

Her heart fell, a lump instantaneously made itself present in her throat, and tears filled blue eyes but refused to fall.

“He’s gone, Clarke.” The voice on the phone repeated.

The dam broke. 

Her hands trembled as they came to her face wiping away the streaks going down her cheeks, only to run slender fingers through her long blonde hair. Her heart hammered within her chest although to her, it felt like it was slowly breaking into pieces with every beat.

“Babe?” A worried voice beside her caught her attention and she looked into questioning brown eyes.

“Clarke?” The voice over the phone called out for the second time.

“H-” She cleared her throat. “How?”

“He was sick from what Jasper told me.” The voice grew quieter. “Pneumonia…he went unconscious at the hospital and went into cardiac arrest…they couldn’t get him back, his heart was too weak, you know?”

Clarke did know and the tears were now freely falling, too many to stop. The pain in her chest intensified with every passing moment making her eyes shut tightly. The car had come to a stop, but she didn’t even realize this until her boyfriend’s arms wrapped around her making her cry harder. She barely heard and acknowledged the voice over the phone say they’d see her later before the connection ended.

“Babe, what’s happened?”

“Wells… he’s gone.” Clarke managed to say before a heart wrenching sob burst from her.

“Oh! I’m so sorry.” He held her tighter, rocking her gently and stroking her hair. “I’m so sorry.”

Words escaped her as all the thoughts running through her mind became jumbled and frayed. Anything coherent failed to formulate and her heart decided to take over, the tears endlessly falling. 

Wells Jaha was a charming young man. At the age of three weeks old, he had to have open heart surgery that he barely managed to survive. He wasn’t expected to live long enough to see his toddler years; yet, his doctors didn’t realize how much of a special boy they were working on and he would prove them wrong. Not only did he make it, but he also made it through five more heart surgeries that he periodically needed throughout his childhood and lived long enough to see his mid twenties. 

Growing up together, the troublesome two-some would find themselves grounded more often than not from their shenanigans. Being neighbors, their bedroom windows conveniently shared the same side of their homes, and both would talk well into the night about their hopes and dreams as well as their plans for the next day’s adventures regardless of punishment and reprimand.

They’d kept in touch after graduating high school even when Wells headed for college across state. Clarke stayed put, moving to the other side of the city after finding her calling in trade school. Though apart, they communicated throughout the day, rarely missing one where Wells wouldn’t text even if it just said something simple as ‘Hello Griffin!! ;) ’ Even now, Clarke looked to her phone and found a text she had meant to reply to.

Head up.  
Eyes open.  
If you want to know where your heart is,  
Look where your mind goes when it wanders.

It was sent only a couple hours ago. She didn’t think anything of it at the time as he was known for sending cryptic messages, but now looking at the words made her wonder where the meaning had stemmed from. They had texted all week but hadn’t talked on the phone like they usually would and she never knew her best friend was sick.

“Do you still want to go?” 

Finn’s voice brought Clarke out of it and she looked up confused, then out the front windshield. They were still parked in an empty parking lot and he had returned to his seat once her tears slowed. He sat looking at her expectantly.

“Excuse me?” Anger quickly replaced sadness. “You’re kidding me, right? My best friend died and you still want to go to a stupid party?”

“Babe no, I was only ask-”

“Why would I still want to go? I didn’t want to go in the first place!” Clarke interrupted him and slumped back into her seat looking out the passenger window. “Take me home.”

“Fine.” Finn grumbled as he started the car and headed back in the direction they had come from. 

Clarke ignored him; the tears still sliding down her cheeks. The hopeful look in his eyes betrayed the innocent ‘just asking’ tone Finn tried to pull off. The two had argued off and on for the past couple of weeks about this party a coworker was having that they were invited to. Yet, it wasn’t the only argument they seemed to have lately, and Clarke was beginning to grow agitated.

Having set up an online dating profile months ago, her roommate Raven and her sifted through many potentially crazy sounding people until they’d come across Finn. Giving it a shot, which was totally out of character for the beautiful blonde, she and Finn began talking and getting to know one another online. They talked for about a month through the site before exchanging numbers and setting up a date.

When they met in person, they hit it off with quite a BANG! Quite literally actually, Finn hadn’t seen Clarke when turning a corner and ran into her as she was crossing the street. A hospital visit, a few hours, and an arm cast later, they had missed their movie, so they decided to grab take out and watch Netflix at Finn’s apartment.

After seeing each other a few times a week up until presently, Clarke at one point could easily have pictured herself settling with the handsome man, even she had to admit they were quite a sight to see when they went out as a couple. While normally he wouldn’t push when it came to what they did with their time together, he started to push Clarke recently into doing things she didn’t want to, the house party being one of the latest added to that long list, and it wasn’t sitting well with her.

The car came to a stop and Finn turned to face her. His mouth opened as if to say something, only to close a couple times with nothing being said. One look into his eyes and Clarke immediately knew she would be spending the evening alone until Raven returned.

“Just go.” Pulling her belt loose she shook her head, “I know you want to.”

“Are you sure?” Finn couldn’t contain his smile, his eyes lighting up until Clarke glared at him.

“You’re unbelievable!” Blue eyes once the color of the sky turned a slate grey as the anger seethed throughout her. “Bye.”

Before he could say another word, Clarke slammed the car door and jogged up the three flights of stairs to her apartment. As she was part way, she heard the squealing of tires as the car sped away. “Goddamn asshole!” She growled as she finished her ascent. 

She walked in after unlocking the front door and threw her jacket on the couch before heading in the direction of the fridge to retrieve a beer. Popping the top off, she took a sip and walked over to her recliner. She wiped at the tears that made their way down her cheeks and cursed her trembling hands, willing them to stop but not succeeding. Memories ran rampant once she closed her eyes causing more tears to fall.

Downing the whole bottle, she yelled in frustration and threw it at the wall. Breaking into pieces, much like her heart, the remains scattered across the floor. Covering her face, she shook her head then hugged her legs to her chest and began rocking slightly. Time seemed to stand still, and she stayed this way for hours. 

Which is exactly how Raven found her when she made it home.

“He left?” 

They sat in the living room drinking from the new bottles Raven had brought in with her when she discovered Clarke in her recliner almost completely withdrawn. 

“He just dropped you off here and took off?” The woman who had to break the news of their friends passing stared at Clarke in disbelief and anger. “Seriously?”

“Yup.” Clarke played with her beer top on her fingers moving it across her knuckles like a poker chip. She looked up at her roommate and best friend. The woman was Clarke’s height, had shoulder length brown hair with a few blonde highlights, and her mulatto skin beautifully complimented her features in every way.

“What an ass!” Raven took a long sip of her drink before saying, “Dude, you need to curb him.”

“Curb him?” An eyebrow rose.

“Yeah, you know, ‘kick him to the curb’?” Raven sat up a little straighter. “You’ve been miserable for awhile now and its only getting worse. Break up with him already before you get seriously hurt.”

“Our best friend just died and you’re telling me that I need to end it with my boyfriend?” Clarke scoffed.

“You know damn well Wells would be on my side on this!”

She was right.

Wells and Raven had made it a mission to show Clarke how wrong Finn was for her every chance they got once the couple had made it official and it only worsened when their problems started. Wells usually liked everyone but right off the bat he acted differently when Finn was around. One day Clarke had had enough and confronted him about it.

“Oh come on, Griffin! He’s a tool!”  
“You don’t know that.” Clarke made herself comfortable on her bed. Wells was home visiting and would be leaving the next day to make it back in time for classes, but they were enjoying their time together while they could.  
“Yes, I do! I can sense it and he’s bad news my friend.” Wells jumped onto the foot of the bed. “He gives off this weird energy and I don’t like it. It’s cold and fake.”  
“Wanna know what I think?” Clarke asked.  
“What?”  
“I think you’re jealous.”  
“Am not!” Wells sat up hitting Clarke with a pillow. “Why would I be jealous?”  
“Because if Finn sticks around, you’re afraid it means less time with me.” Clarke stated matter of factly.  
“Bullshit! That’s not going to happen!” He jumped to his knees. “I was here first, I get priority!”  
“Maybe.” Clarke grinned.  
Wells dove for her and what resulted was a wrestling match and chase around the apartment to which he swiftly won when Clarke tripped over a chair and was pinned to the floor.

“You’re right.” Clarke rubbed the palms of her hands on her jeans. “He would’ve.”

“Damn right.” Raven looked down at her now empty beer, then to Clarke’s. “Want another?”

“Sure.” Clarke replied falling back into her recliner staring absent mindedly at the bottle as Raven went to the kitchen. “I still can’t believe he’s gone.” 

“Me neither.” Her bottle was taken and replaced by a new one and her roommate sat on the couch as silence fell over them. Both were in their own world of memories, thoughts both set on that of their departed friend. Once Clarke finished her drink, she set it on the table and went to the sliding glass door, opened it, and stepped out.

The sky was dark with very few stars shining bright enough to show through the light pollution the city always had. A slight but comfortable chill was in the air, but not enough for a jacket to be absolutely necessary. The moon was almost full, making everything appear brighter. She sat on the patio swing, gazing up and lost track of time for the second time that day.

She was so deep in thought that even Raven failed to shake her out of her trance like state. After multiple tries, the brunette grabbed a blanket to wrap around Clarke’s shoulders and went back inside to her own bedroom. Thinking she would come back in later after she had time to herself. However, Clarke remained in her own world, oblivious to anything going on around her.

The smell of coffee brought Clarke back to the real world. Blinking a few times and groaning as muscles finally registered the many hours of sitting in the same position, she stretched and stood up. Looking about her, she saw the touches of the sunrise indicating she’d been outside all evening and it was the start to a new day.

“You stay out all night?” Raven asked as she stood at the kitchen counter drinking a cup of coffee.

“What do you think?” Clarke replied throwing the blanket she’d had on the couch and shuffled down the hall to her room.

Slipping out of her clothes, she walked to her bathroom door and turned on the shower before relieving herself of her morning duty. Stepping in, a groan escaped her lips as the hot water cascaded down her aching body, effectively washing away the nights stiffness. Bracing her hands against the showerhead wall, she hung her head and shut her eyes.

“Hey, Clarke?” 

Clarke opened her eyes as Raven called to her. She could tell her roommate stood outside her bathroom door, but wasn’t going to move any further, “Yeah?”

“I’m going to see Thelonious later, do you wanna come with?” 

A stab of pain shot through Clarke and she had to inhale at its intensity. So, caught up in her own grief at the unexpected news, she’d completely forgotten about Wells father and how he must be doing.

“Of course.” Clarke replied. “I’ll see about catching a nap so I’m not completely dead-”

Freezing midsentence, her face paled and eyes welled with tears that mixed with the water from the shower. “I, uhm,-”

“Get a nap in, you’re gonna need it.” Raven saved her from saying anything else and she heard her bedroom door close indicating her roommate had left.

Not wanting to lose it again, especially while in the shower, Clarke hurriedly finished washing herself off and then towel dried. She wrapped the towel around her and walked into the room. Definitely needing sleep, but wanting to check anyway, she grabbed her pants she’d taken off and pulled out her cell phone.

10 New Voicemails  
51 New Text Messages

Clarke shook her head and put her phone on the charger seeing the low battery and fell onto her bed. She would deal with Finn later because even without looking, she had no doubt in her mind that all those were from him.

Grumbling at the numbers flashing 4:28am, she put her phone face down on her night stand and punched her pillow a few times to get comfortable. She had a long emotional day ahead of her and knew it was only the beginning of many.

“My God what is that?” Raven eyed the phone in Clarke’s hand.

They were on their way to Clarke’s old neighborhood and the blonde was reviewing the now sixteen new voicemails and additional thirty-five more text messages on top of the ones already on her phone. She’d woken up to her phone giving her an alert stating that her voicemail storage was full and she was tempted to leave it that way.

“Who do you think?” Clarke smirked putting her phone on speaker.

“Turn it off! Turn it off!” Raven yelled as Finn’s voice bellowed over the current voicemail Clarke was half listening to.

Clarke chuckled and took the phone off speaker, putting it to her ear to continue to half listen to the voicemails until she’d checked them all. Curiosity was mostly the prompting for actually taking the time to listen to them in the first place, as opposed to just deleting them without doing so.

The first majority of the messages were of her very angry boyfriend yelling at her for the way she had stormed off and making him go to the party alone. The second part was of a very intoxicated boyfriend apologizing for his behavior and that he was being selfish and should have stayed. The last few messages were from this morning of a very hung over boyfriend asking Clarke to please call him back and talk to him. The text messages were of a similar pattern with only a couple coming from others besides him.

By the time Clarke was done going through all the messages, they had pulled up to a house on the north end of the city. The blue house stood out among the others in its subdivision in every way possible. From its color to its size, it was definitely a home Clarke loved to see whenever she came over, aside from her parents home that sat beside it of course. She had many fond memories in this house and even from the outside it already seemed like something was missing. 

Taking a breath, she exited the car and without a word both women made their way to the door. Raven held her hand up to knock, but the blonde brushed passed her and opened the door. The darker woman giving her a look as she went. 

“We’re still his family.” Clarke muttered as her roommate followed her in. In the house now she yelled, “JAHA! Where you at?” She couldn’t help it. It was something her and Wells always bellowed when they’d come into the home and of course it brought tears to her eyes.

“In here, Clarke.” Came a low baritone voice from the living room.

Taking a deep breath, Clarke walked in said direction and stopped when she entered. Sitting on the couch were her parents, her father had his arms wrapped around her mother as she cried. Beside them sat the older version of her best friend, Thelonious. Others Clarke recognized were in the room as well, relatives and friends alike. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room, and all looked at Clarke knowingly as she nodded her acknowledgement to them.

Looking back to her parents and Thelonious, the pain in her chest came back full force at the look he gave her. He was a good man who took care of his friends and family and Clarke always respected him for that. Yet today, he was small and looked like he was going to crumble at the slightest touch. But it wasn’t until she met her mother’s eyes that her resolve shattered and before she knew it, she had the older woman’s arms hugging her tightly as the tears flowed freely.

“I’m so sorry, Clarke.” Abby cried squeezing her as if she was afraid to let her go.

“I’m sorry too, Mom.” Clarke mumbled holding tightly. “I didn’t know.”

“Nobody knew.” Abby pulled away slightly and turned to Raven, smiling a bit and cupped her cheek. “Raven, I’m glad you’re here.”

“I wouldn’t be anywhere else.” The brunette wiped at her cheeks before being touched.

Abby looked back to Clarke who still had her in a semi-hug, “You know how stubborn Wells was, he didn’t tell anyone he was in the hospital. No one knew until it was too late.”

Tears slid down Clarke’s cheeks as she rolled her eyes, “This sucks.”

“I completely agree!” Abby said relinquishing her hold on her daughter and looking around. Everyone was nodding their heads in agreement as well, “Well, I suppose we should go into the kitchen and get everyone some lunch. Who’s hungry?”

“Forever the hostess.” Clarke thought shaking her head she was starting to feel dizzy, “Mom why don’t you let us kids go make everyone something? Or even go pick something up?”

“Yeah, there are plenty of us here to do that.” A male voice piped up to Clarke’s left side.

“Jasper!” Abby smiled lovingly at him and went to give him a hug after giving Raven one as well.

“Hi, Mom.” Jasper hugged her close and looked over her shoulder to Clarke, “Clarke?”

The concern in his voice made Abby turn back to her daughter who had paled and was clenching her hands into fists, slightly swaying, her head shaking back and forth. Immediately, Thelonious jumped up and grabbed a hold of her and gently guided her to the couch.

“Clarke, are you ok?” Thelonious questioned as he held her upright. “Someone get some water, please.”

Clarke held her eyes shut. Her ears were ringing making it difficult to hear what anyone was saying, not that she could hear anything currently over the fast beating of her heart. She was breathing erratically even as she attempted to calm herself by breathing slower. She felt a pressure on her back forcing her to bend forward placing her head between her legs. A small gentle hand ran up and down her back in a calming gesture.

Jasper brought in a bottle of water from the kitchen, handing it to Thelonious while he looked at his friend with concerned eyes. Raven stood beside him mirroring his look.

“Clarke, honey, drink this.” Abby placed the bottle she’d taken from her friend into a shaking hand, holding it and the hand so the glass didn’t drop. “Come on, baby.”

Slowly raising her head, Clarke took the glass reluctantly to her lips and drank. The beating of her heart was slowing at the calming touch on her back, the ringing was still present but quieting down some. Her breath finally settled into even tones. 

Rubbing her temple she shook her head and looked sheepishly at the concerned parents on each side of her. “Sorry, guys.”

“Don’t be sorry, honey, it’s a lot to take in all at once.” Jake, her father said as he placed his hands on her shoulders from behind the couch.

Abby continued to rub her lower back. The tears in her eyes shining in knowing eyes, “I had a very similar panic attack earlier, so you’re not alone.”

“You should’ve seen me yesterday,” Jasper kneeled in front of the blonde, “I thought my head was about to explode and I nearly did pass out.”

“So dramatic.” Clarke joked. “Hey, Jasper.”

“Hiyah, Clarke.” He hugged her and rubbed her back. “I’m sorry you lost him.”

“We lost him.” Clarke corrected him, “We all lost him.”

Jasper nodded and turned to Abby who had asked him something. Clarke watched them talk observing the man she knew since high school. She would definitely consider him a friend as he would always hang out with Wells and herself during breaks and lunch periods. He was about Raven’s height, thin but working on it so he was showing more muscle than the last time she’d seen him. Short brown hair sat atop his head stretching down along his jaw in a well groomed beard. His eyes while a normally light brown, seemed dull at the moment as tears slid down his cheeks while he talked.

Most dispersed from the room, running errands for Thelonious, or going about the house and doing chores so he could sit and make the phone calls necessary for final arrangements. Clarke had attempted to stand and help but was pushed back down by an insistent Jasper telling her to stay put as she was close enough to the family to be considered Wells sister and it wasn’t her place to need to help out. Clarke just growled in response, but stayed as Abby placed a hand within hers and gave her a look that nearly broke the blonde down further. 

Well’s mother had had complications while pregnant and unfortunately it had caused Wells premature birth and surgery struggles thereafter. It had also effectively made it to where Wells would be his parents’ only child and leave Thelonious a single father to raise his son.

Wells was a very likeable kid to most and it wasn’t a surprise when he would bring home a friend or two to dinner or spend the night. So, the absence of another sibling was rarely felt in the Jaha household. Most kids would make an appearance a couple times, but none stuck around like Clarke did and Thelonious immediately took her in. He easily adopted her into the family and provided for her as her own parents did for Wells.

So, Clarke stayed put, giving comfort when needed as Jake and Thelonious made phone calls and shed more tears. Food was made and laid out on the dining room table and counters. Many came and visited a bit before leaving, but most stayed and took up a spot anywhere they could. While there was a low murmur of conversation in the room, none really fell to the blonde who sat silently between her mother and Thelonious. Both to which had placed a hand or arm on her. Neither moving unless someone new came in, however after a brief welcome, they’d return back to the couch to Clarke’s side.

Arrangements were made. 

She’d be saying farewell to her best friend in a week.


	2. Chapter 2

“Ladies and Gentlemen, we will be making our decent in approximately three minutes. Please fasten your seat belts and make sure your trays are clear and in an upright position. Please do not leave your seats until we have safely come to a complete stop in the boarding zone. Once again our staff would like to thank you for flying Southwest Airlines.”

Movement could be heard as trays were lifted and belts were snapped together. Two flight attendants scurried down the aisles making sure everyone adhered to the warning and once all were settled, they too made their way to their seats before landing.

Green eyes peered about the cabin before looking to the headrest in front of her. Taking a deep breath, she attempted to calm her nerves, to no avail. No matter how many times she’d done this, Lexa hated this part of flying. 

Taking off? No problem. 

Midair? Piece of cake. 

Landing? Hell no!

Her anxiety level went up every time and she could only hope the woman beside her didn’t have her hand on the armrest between them, otherwise she wouldn’t feel the least bit sorry when she suffered from the claw marks her fingernails would no doubt leave.

Luckily, said woman this time sensed her unease and kept her hands in her own lap when the smaller brunette grabbed the armrest and white knuckle gripped the poor upholstery as the plane shifted to begin its decent. 

“Anxious much?” 

“Shove it, Octavia.” Lexa growled glaring at her. She inhaled sharply as she felt everything tilt in the cabin as they turned towards the runway they’d be landing on.

“I offered to sit beside you, Heda,” A voice behind them taunted, “You declined. Remember that.”

“I am more than aware.” Lexa shut her eyes as she felt her ears pop. She opened her mouth to relieve the pressure before mumbling, “Remember that we are landing and when I vomit, I’ll be sure to aim towards you.”

The three women surrounding her chuckled and Lexa couldn’t help the small upturn of her own lips. It was short lived though as they were jostled upon their first touch of the ground. After another, the plane stilled as it slowed and began to make its way towards their stop.

Relief washed over her and she released the breath she didn’t know she had been holding. Her fingers unclenched and she rubbed at the joints as blood rushed back to her fingertips. She looked towards Octavia who had a grin upon her face as she unfastened her belt and turned to the two women behind them.

“Pay up, bitches.” 

“Not fair.” Anya reluctantly handed over the bills she retrieved from her pocket.

“I will get this back.” Indra stared pointedly at the grinning woman. “Don’t get too cocky, Blake.”

Lexa rolled her eyes at their antics as she too unfastened her belt, “What was it for this time?”

“Whether or not you’d pass out.” Octavia shrugged and pocketed her winnings. “They bet against me.”

“Obviously.” Lexa smirked and shot a look at the women behind them again before looking to those in their aisle waiting to stand.

“Excuse me ladies.” The perky flight attendant that had assisted them throughout the flight came towards them with her ever present smile and looked as if she were about to cry, “Those aboard would like to thank you for your service and are offering to stay in their seats to allow you time to grab your packs and exit first.”

They all exchanged a look and when there was no objection, as their leader, it was Lexa who spoke up. “Thank you, Ma’am.” She replied as she pushed Octavia to move so they could do so.

The four women in uniform grabbed their belongings and with nods to those still seated they made their way to leave. They fell into step together, Lexa and Indra in front of Octavia and Anya. No words were spoken as they practically marched through the tunnel into the terminal where despite the afternoon hour, many still milled about.

A small crowd had formed outside the gates as friends and family eagerly awaited those who would be arriving. As they walked past, many nodded their head as a sign of respect, and someone began to clap until all joined in. Choruses of ‘Welcome home’ and ‘Thank you for your service’ could be heard as they made their way through. 

Lexa’s chest filled with pride as she walked. This sort of welcome was fairly common since the wars started years ago. Whether she was out in the field or home, this kind of respect always made her proud of the choice she made to join the military.

Seeing a familiar face amongst the crowd, she led them towards him. Without her command, as they’d done this many times before, they stopped as one and stood at attention before their superior.

“At ease, ladies.” Once they relaxed their stance, he looked to Lexa, “Corporal, is there anything more to report since we last spoke?”

“No, Sir.” Lexa replied. “The mission was a success and as you can see, we are all accounted for.”

“Of course.” He nodded. “Your unit has made quite a name for itself and I’m glad they reassigned you to me.”

“It’s unfortunate Titus couldn’t remain in charge, despite our conflict of interest.” Lexa bit before amending her slip of the tongue by adding, “But we are honored to have you, Sir.”

To her surprise he chuckled and gave no reprimand, “Your reputation certainly doesn’t deceive you. Now, I’ve been informed that once you completed your mission, you all were relieved of your duties. Therefore, you may return home until further ordered.”

“Sir, yes sir.” The four women replied in unison.

“Corporal, I’ll be in contact with you soon.” He nodded to her with a slight smile. 

“Yes, Sir.” Lexa snapped to attention and saluted the Sergeant, the others following suit.

He turned to walk away and after a few steps stopped, “Oh and Trikru?” The four women hadn’t moved yet and looked to him. “Damn fine job out there. Welcome back.”

“Well, that was a bit surprising.” Octavia spoke first after he was out of sight and they all visibly relaxed. “I was expecting more.”

“What now, Heda?” Indra looked to Lexa who appeared lost in thought.

Green eyes looked to the three expectant faces before her, “Now, we go home.”

“Whoop!” Octavia jumped and air punched a few times in glee, “Let’s hope for a longer break, yeah?”

“I agree.” Anya smirked at the woman, “I need away from you.”

“Oh, you love me, and you know it!” Octavia winked and looked to Lexa, “You know what this means right?”

Lexa’s eyebrows narrowed as she knew the spunky woman could get quite creative, “What?”

“We’re going back on a plane.” 

“Fuck me.” Lexa groaned hanging her head.

Everyone chuckled at her unease and Anya stepped forward to pat her back, “Come on, let’s go get our tickets.”

“Arkadia here we come!” Octavia whooped again as they turned to follow the signs to the nearest ticket-master.

The tickets had been purchased and it would only be a delay of a few hours before they’d be headed to Arkadia’s airport. While Trikru had formed a tight bond over the years, the heart of their bond was their upbringing. Lexa, Anya and Indra all had roots in Polis, a growing city about thirty minutes from Arkadia where Octavia was from.

Their trip from Washington D.C seemed short compared to the initial flight back to the States, and Lexa was more than happy to be on the ground again. She walked in silence as Octavia went on about having a celebratory drink before they all separated. The only thoughts going through her mind were of going to her home and getting in a hot shower, and maybe falling into bed to sleep for a week.

“Bellamy!” Octavia’s squeal brought her from her thoughts as the brunette dropped her pack and ran for her brother.

“O!” Bellamy smiled as he embraced his sister and hugged her tight. “I’ve missed you.”

Lexa smiled at the reunion and it grew even bigger when she noticed the man waiting for her just beyond. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?”

“I could say the same about you.” He smirked as he grabbed her when she was close enough swinging her around, pack and all. “It’s damn good to see you home.”

“I’m glad to be home.” Lexa slapped at his arms, “Now put me down you big brute. I’ve a reputation to uphold!”

“Right.” He complied and released her, “Wouldn’t want the infamous Heda to be seen as human.”

Lexa glared at him and was about to make a smart comeback when an arm was slung over her shoulder.

“So, Lincoln, you’ve come to kidnap our fearless leader?” Octavia asked as she smiled at the man. “I’m hurt that you wouldn’t say hello before whisking her away.”

“Apologies, I hadn’t finished my welcoming with my cousin before I had the chance.” Lincoln grinned charmingly before nodding his head and offering his hand, “Hello, Octavia.”

“Hello, Lincoln.” Octavia replied grasping his hand firmly.

“Will you two just kiss already?” Anya dropped Octavia’s forgotten pack at her feet before crossing her arms. “You two make me sick.”

“I agree.” Lexa slipped from the arm around her shoulder and pushed the two together. “We will be waiting over there when you two are done sucking face. Make it quick, I hear a shower calling my name.”

“Food is calling mine.” Anya said as they laughed and walked to where Indra stood waiting.

“Food is always calling yours.” Indra shook her head and looked to Lexa, “I’m going to decline going out later with you ladies. I’d like to stay in and enjoy being home.”

“I might do the same.” Lexa looked back to the couple who now stood talking to Bellamy. Her eyebrows narrowed when she saw the serious look on the man’s face, and she was quick to return to Octavia’s side as the woman collapsed into Lincoln’s arms. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

Lincoln’s sad eyes looked to her as he continued to hold his sobbing girlfriend before he looked back to Bellamy, who stood with his own tear-filed eyes. “You couldn’t have waited to tell her?” he asked angrily.

“Tell her what?” Lexa growled her fists clenching as she felt the presence of Anya and Indra both beside her and Octavia.

“A friend of our family, someone we went to school with, passed away a couple days ago.” Bellamy explained, “His funeral is on Friday.”

“I agree with Lincoln,” Anya glared at the man before her, “You couldn’t have waited to tell her?”

“She was going to find out anyway.” Bellamy snapped through clenched teeth. “It’s all anyone is talking about.”

“It’s ok guys.” Octavia’s strained voice interrupted anyone from further attacking her brother. “I needed to know.”

“What time on Friday?” Lexa asked after taking a calming breath.

“One o’clock.” 

Green eyes looked back to Octavia, “We will see you then.”

“You guys don’t have to do that.” The brunette protested, “I’ll be fine.”

“Are you not a part of Trikru?” Lexa asked narrowing her eyes at the hazel ones before her, her voice taking on her authoritative tone.

“Yes, Ma’am.” Octavia replied standing straighter, leaving Lincoln’s arms.

“Then Trikru will be there for our sister-in-arms when she needs us.” Lexa looked to Anya and Indra who both nodded their agreement. 

“Thank you.” Octavia smiled at her team and looked to her brother, “You ready to go?”

“Yeah.” Bellamy nodded as he grabbed her pack and started walking to the doors that would lead him to his car.

“See you Friday.” Octavia gave the three women a hug and kissed her boyfriend, “I’ll call you when I’m home.”

“You better.” Lincoln replied before she took off after her brother.

Lexa sighed and rubbed her temples to ease the oncoming headache she felt, “Let’s go home.”

The drive to Polis was relatively quiet, save for the radio that played around them. Lexa sat in the passenger seat her eyes fixed on the scenery around her, taking it all in. While she had been on this freeway many times before, it seemed time and time again that she would view it in a different light after returning from being away on duty.

Indra was first to be dropped off at her apartment. She bid her farewell and was out of the SUV before another word was spoken and Lexa couldn’t blame her. They’d all gotten up early that morning to catch their flight out and she knew for a fact that their excitement towards going home prevented any of the four women to rest while on their long flight.

Their job was anything but ordinary. When Lexa entered the Marine Corps she expected it to be tough and greedily accepted the challenge. What she wasn’t prepared for was the interest she’d gained from those higher up as she tackled every obstacle in her way and quickly climbed the ladder in rank.

With the knowledge that she now had of everything that she had experienced since joining, she would scoff at her old self’s belief that she would be going into a normal military life. Join, train, go to war, come home, and retire once her contract was up. That was her ideology of how things were going to go when she swore in. She would be so very wrong.

She could remember the day she was offered her current position and how everything changed.

Knocking on the dense wood of the door that stood before her, she stood at ease, waiting for the affirmation of entry before turning the knob and making her way to the desk where a woman sat writing.  
“Corporal Woods, please take a seat.”  
Swallowing the lump of nervousness in her throat, Lexa did as instructed and waited. She had been reading in her room when she was summoned and during the long walk from the barracks, even as she sat, many thoughts went through her head as to why she was sitting before the Master Sergeant.   
“Do you know why you are here?”   
“No, Ma’am.” Lexa replied and she sat a little straighter as the woman before her finally looked up.  
“Your time in the Corps has been quite an adventure and interesting to follow.” The pen was put down and hands steepled in front of thin lips. “So much so that we’ve decided to offer you a new avenue to pursue that may offer you more of a challenge.”  
“New avenue, Ma’am?” To say the brunette was now thoroughly confused would be an understatement. She always hated riddles.  
“How would you like the opportunity that would not only offer you the challenge of the work you’ve been training for, but also the luxury and comfort of retaining your civility while not on duty?” Blue-grey eyes bore into confused green and a small smile quirked the side of the Master Sergeant’s lips.  
Rolling around the ideas of what the true intention of the offer meant, Lexa finally gave up and replied, “That would depend on the nature of this offer, Ma’am.”  
“We want you to be reassigned to a new unit.-”  
Lexa’s stomach dropped as the words met her ears. She’d worked hard to gain the respect of her current unit and leadership, and the thought of starting back to square one didn’t sit well with her.  
“-You would become part of a Special Forces Tactical Unit that would be utilized in many various degrees to complete top priority missions.” She stood up and rounded the desk to lean against the corner. “Three others have been selected and have already accepted their new roles. We’re hoping you’ll be our fourth.”  
“And the part in regards to civility, Ma’am?”   
“You will be able to go home.” The smile returned and the younger woman sat forward eager to hear more. “You will be called upon when the need arises to join your unit on a mission. Once the mission is complete, you’ll return home for a much earned down time. And believe me when I say that the down time will be just that. These missions will not be easy, and you will find yourself in questionable situations but completion is futile as many of these could equate failure to death.”  
“The catch, Ma’am?”  
“A new contract.” The papers that had been written on earlier were slid in front of Lexa who took them into slightly shaky hands and began reading. “Of course, there is room for reasonable negotiation, but everything is spelled out for you. Should you need time-”  
“I’m in.” Lexa breathed out interrupting the woman before adding, “Ma’am.”  
“Are you sure, Corporal?” An eyebrow rose at the quick response, “Once the ink settles there is no going back.”  
“I’m positive, Ma’am.” Taking the initiative, Lexa stood and took the pen that had been set down and signed where needed. Once completed, she pushed the papers over and looked expectantly at the woman. “And now?”  
“Now, you may meet your new unit.” The woman stood and walked to the door behind them, opening it and motioning them in.  
Seeing the three other women enter the room, Lexa couldn’t help the smile that formed on her face. Two of them she knew quite well and the third she was familiar with from training. She knew right off the bat that she’d made the right decision.  
“I doubt introductions are needed much between you four,” The Master Sergeant moved to Lexa’s side, “Corporal Woods meet your new unit. Lance Corporals Blake, Forrest, and Carter.”  
Matching smiles could be seen all around.

The SUV coming to a stop and the soft nudging of her shoulder brought Lexa out of her reverie and she looked around in confusion. Anya was gone, meaning she must have been dropped off and as she looked out the window the familiar outline of her home brought a smile to her face.

“Go get some sleep.” Lincoln said unlocking the doors so she could get out. “You look dead on your feet.”

“Maybe because I am.” Lexa hugged him and opened her door. “Thank you.”

“Anytime.” Lincoln nodded as she stepped out before adding, “Oh, my dad wants to know if you’ll be over soon to see him?”

“I’ll call him and let him know. Text me when you’re home.” 

Eager to go inside, she barely allowed for him to respond before shutting the door and making her way with her pack to the front door. Fishing her key out of her pocket she let herself in and let out a sigh of relief when the door closed.

“It’s so good to be home.” 

Her pack dropped to the floor beside her.


	3. Chapter 3

The days melted together, one no different from the other, as Clark busied herself with helping Thelonious as much as she could. She had ignored Finn’s calls and texts throughout the week, but he was persistent and decided the day of the funeral to show up at the apartment. Clarke opened the door and before a word was spoken, she turned and walked to her room leaving Finn standing in the doorway.

Returning to her bathroom where she was blow drying her hair, Clarke internally prepared herself for the conversation they were about to have. She knew she had the time to finish getting ready and head over to the church, today was hard enough without the added hissy fit her boyfriend was sure to pull.

“So, are you going to talk to me or ignore me like you have all week?” Finn asked as he sat on the bed watching the blonde.

Clarke glanced at him, then back to the mirror, “What’s there to say?”

“Look, I’m sorry, ok? I shouldn’t have left you like that.” Finn looked down at his hands, “I messed up.”

“Yeah, you messed up.” Clarke put the hair dryer down and started brushing her hair out. “It’s done and over with now. Now leave.”

“What? You can’t be serious!” Finn jumped off the bed and stepped closer. “We still need to talk and you avoiding me isn’t going to solve that.”

Putting the brush down and crossing her arms over her chest, Clarke glared at him. “I need to get ready to go to Wells funeral and don’t have time for this right now.”

“When, then, are you going to have the time to work this out with me?” He asked as he stepped closer to her and tried reaching for her hand.

“Don’t!” Clarke took a step back not liking that she was now pinned in the bathroom as Finn blocked her only way out and she could feel her temper rising, “Don’t you touch me.”

“I’m your boyfriend, Clarke, I’m allowed to.” He reached for Clarke again and this time she allowed it. He pulled her into his arms, and she felt him sigh.

Her whole body was full of tension and a thought crossed her mind as she allowed him to hold her and she nodded, “You’re wrong.”

“What? I-”

“Being my boyfriend does not give you permission to touch me whenever you damn well please.” Clarke interrupted pushing him back and out of the bathroom. “It’s over, Finn.”

Finn’s mouth dropped open in surprise but quickly recovered before chuckling, “Babe, you’re under a lot of stress, you don’t mean-”

“Oh, but I do mean it!” Clarke interrupted him again, her eyes turning lighter every minute her anger flared. “Get out! We are over Finn!”

Raven having been eavesdropping since Finn’s arrival, took that opportunity to step into the room and interrupted Finn before he could say anything else, “Come on, dude. And don’t make it harder than it has to be.”

Seeing her roommate step in, Finn shut his eyes and shook his head. He opened his mouth as if to say something before shutting it and reluctantly leaving the room without saying another word. Raven followed him until Clarke heard the front door slamming shut. It wasn’t until then that Clarke let out a sigh of relief and she turned back to the mirror to pull her hair up.

“You ok?” Raven asked taking a seat on the bed where Finn had just been.

“Yeah.” Clarke slipped bobby pins between her lips while styling her hair to how she wanted it. “I’m more annoyed than anything.”

“I know what you mean.” Raven looked to the outfit beside her that Clarke had lain out. It was a simple white blouse with black slacks. “Today’s gonna be rough.”

“I know what you mean.” Clarke echoed as she slipped the last bobby pin into place and turned to her roommate. “I was asked to speak.”

“That’s not surprising.” Raven eyed her, “You’re gonna do it right?”

Clarke bit her lip, “I’m sure I will. I just keep thinking about all the people who will be there and it’s making me nervous.”

“You’ll do fine.” Raven reassured her. “Just go up there and imagine he’s right there in front of you and talk like you’re talking to him.”

Clarke smiled, “I just might be able to do that.”

“Good! Now, let’s get you into this and we’ll get going soon.” Raven handed her the clothes and then walked out of the room.

Sighing, Clarke dressed and went into her bathroom again to add final touch ups. The funeral was to be held at a church on the other side of town near the north end near her old neighborhood. Raven, Jasper, and herself were expected to arrive a little bit early to help seat those attending. The drive would be uneventful, and the two roommates would barely talk again as both had their thoughts on how the afternoon would play out.

“Clarke! You look stunning!” Her mother smiled through tear-filled eyes as she stood outside to greet them. “I can’t whistle but you know Wells would have if he were here.”

Blushing embarrassingly, Clarke just brushed off the comment and hugged the smaller woman. Jake was there beside his wife and drew her in for his own embrace. After their share of hugs, the roommates made their way through the doors and assisted Jasper who was already present.

When the time came, the three friends took their seats near the front a couple rows behind Thelonious and Clarke’s parents. After seeing her choice of seating, Abby stood and walked back to Clarke and gave her an admonishing look. Rolling her eyes, the smaller blonde took the arm offered and followed her back up to the front where Abby placed her to her right while Jake sat to his wife’s left.

The preacher began and gave a short speech which lead into the singing a few traditional hymns before Wells’ aunt stood and said a few things about her nephew. Sharing her favorite memory of the boy she knew and loved. A few others stood up after, one at a time regaling those listening with stories and making everyone present turn their tears of sorrow into tears of laughter. Clarke was so focused on what everyone was saying, she’d completely forgotten that she was up next to speak until the preacher looked at her motioning for her to stand.

Taking a deep breath and after her hand was squeezed by her mother, Clarke stood and made her way to the podium. What seemed to take forever was really only a few seconds as she raised the mic and shut her eyes. She stood before the crowded room, picturing her friend before her as Raven had suggested, instead of thinking about the closed casket behind her. Clarke opened her eyes and smiled slightly at the faded image of her friend standing there by the front pew waiting for her to speak. She knew it was only in her head, but the image looked so real she could’ve swore he was really there.

“Wells,” Clarke cleared her throat as her voice began to crack, “I have so many words to say to you and at this very moment, none of them seem more appropriate than, how dare you?”

Someone in the room shifted, another coughed but they all remained quiet watching the blonde speak.

“How dare you leave us all behind? How dare you not tell anyone you were sick? How dare you accept a fate of being alone in a hospital with strangers in your final moment!” Tears fell freely from blue eyes as she spoke, “You know damn well I would have been there for you…you know damn well many of us would have.”

She looked to Raven and Jasper who were nodding their heads in agreement, to her parents who once again embraced as Jake consoled his wife. Then to Thelonious, who sat beside her father with tear streaks running down his cheeks. She swallowed the lump in her throat and shook her head looking back to the image of her friend still standing in her mind before her.

“You were a strong, courageous, most kind-hearted man I ever knew. Your friendship meant the world to me and I know I failed miserably in telling you so.” Clarke wiped at her cheeks. “I’m so thankful to you for being so persistent in making me your friend so many years ago. That we got the chance to grow up together during the time we did, even though I wish it would have been longer.”

“I love you very much, even if I didn’t tell you as often as you told me. We’ve shared too many memories, the good, the bad, the ugly. You’ve seen me at my lowest and my highest, as I’ve seen you at yours. I only wish I was there to hold your hand as you were at your lowest.”

“I’m sure, though we all know you were quite stubborn, that you were scared, and that’s what hurts me the most.” Clarke hung her head and bit her lip as it began to tremble, “We promised each other when we were younger that we’d always protect each other from anything bad. That we would always be by each other’s side no matter what happened. After hearing you were gone, I felt like I let you down on that promise and I am so very sorry, Wells. I can only ask one thing of you.”

She looked back to the image of her friend, “Please forgive me?”

The image before her smiled and nodded his head before looking with sad eyes to his father. A hand moved to Thelonious’ shoulder and the man shut his eyes, and for the briefest of moments it was as if he could feel the presence of his son beside him. A smile spread across Wells face before looking back to his best friend and slowly fading away.

Clarke bowed her head before wiping her eyes yet again, she lifted her head and finished, “Wells was my best friend, someone who would drop whatever he was doing to go to you, even if it was in the middle of the night and he was sleeping. Which, if you happened to wake him, that was a miracle in itself.”

There were a few chuckles in the room chorused by many sniffles. Clarke looked to Thelonious, “Wells made it easy to love him and made it very difficult to dislike him, and even though he may be gone…” She cleared her throat as her voice threatened to crack again, “He and the rest of the Jaha family will always remain forever in my heart. Thank you.”

Some clapped as she stepped down. Others just watched as she was taken into Thelonious arms, as he had stood up and both started another round of crying. Around the few men cleared the podium and moved it along with a few other items that would be in the way. With his arm still over her shoulders, Clarke watched Thelonious nod towards someone in the back and the doors were opened.

To everyone’s amazement, and slight confusion, the doors opened to reveal four women in uniform who began marching in unison down the aisle towards the front.

“Octavia?” Clarke smiled at the sight, recognizing her other lifelong friend among the four newcomers. Looking to Thelonious she asked, “What’s going on?”

“I was asked for permission for them to carry him.” Thelonious replied as he continued to watch the women before him move closer.

As one, Trikru stopped before Thelonious and stood at attention. Octavia took one step forward and nodded to the man, “With your permission, Sir.”

Clarke’s eyes were wide with shock at the spectacle before her. After a nod from her best friends’ father, she watched as Octavia stepped back in line and with two women on each side of the casket they raised it as one, making it appear to have been as light as a feather.

As amazing as the sight in front of her was, Clarke couldn’t help but to notice each of the other three women with Octavia. They all wore the same emotionless looks upon their faces and all moved with the precision that mirrored the other. In the time her friend had been gone in the military and come home, this was the first time anyone had actually seen the unit as a whole.

Feeling a tug on her shoulder, she allowed Thelonious to guide her down the aisle behind his son. She knew her parents were right behind her followed by the rest of the family and her friends as well as anyone else who remained. New tears began to cascade down her cheeks as she watched the casket be loaded into the hearse that would take Wells Jaha on his final journey to his resting place.

They all drove in procession escorted by motorcycled police officers who would take turns clearing the way for the long line of vehicles heading towards the cemetery. There were too many cars to count but Clarke was sure it was quite a sight to see as they all followed the black hearse in front. She rode with her parents opting to accept what little comfort they could provide.

Once they arrived, Clarke looked around before stepping out and going to her mother’s side as she was helped from the car by her father. A small crowd had already gathered around the hole already dug where her friend would lie to rest. A line of chairs sat along one side for immediate family, everyone else would remain standing. After those who were coming were settled in their spots, the casket was brought out and carefully walked to its place above the hole.

Again, the preacher said a few words, a song was sung by one of Wells’ cousins, and everyone was asked to say their goodbyes one final time before the ceremony was concluded and the casket lowered.

Blue eyes watched as Thelonious was the first to approach the casket. In his hands she recognized Wells favorite hat he always wore and jacket. Both items were placed on top of the closed lid and shoulders sagged as the man broke down. Ever the faithful friend, Clarke watched as her father stepped up to him and walked him back to his seat.

Standing with Abby, Clarke took a deep breath and walked with her to the bowl of roses that sat nearby. They each selected one and approached only then releasing the hold on one another as her mother whispered a few words into the petals before placing her rose atop the casket.

The never-ending tears fell from blue eyes as Clarke faced the casket. She ran a hand over the polished wood as if caressing it would make everything become more real. Kissing the rose in her other hand, she placed it next to the other and she whispered, “May we meet again, my friend.”

Moving aside she walked away from the crowd gathered to repeat the same actions she just did; to say their own goodbyes and walk away. Raven and Jasper found her where she leaned against a nearby tree after their turn and the three stood watching on as everyone approached the casket then made their way to Wells’ family to say their condolences before leaving.

“Octavia Renee Blake!”

Clarke looked to Raven who had bellowed their friend’s name. She followed where the darker woman’s eyes were trained as she raised her hands on her hips glaring at the woman in uniform who wasn’t far from where they were. She couldn’t hide the laughter as Octavia stepped away from her unit and crossed her arms.

“Raven Marie Reyes!”

“Bitch.”

“Ass.”

“Dick!”

“Girls!” Abby’s voice interrupted the word volley and both flinched and then grinned before Octavia cracked and ran to her friends.

“I’ve missed you guys so much!” The brunette pulled both Raven and Clarke into a three-way hug and held them tight.

“We’ve missed you, O.” Clarke pulled away and tilted her head slightly, “When did you get in?”

“A few days ago.” Octavia wiped the tear that was streaking down her cheek. “I’m sorry I know I should have let you guys know but my family has been up my ass.”

“Nothing new there.” Raven rolled her eyes, “Heaven forbid our mighty warrior return from god knows where and be shown a little affection.”

“Really, Raven?” Clarke rolled her eyes and shoved her, “She hasn’t been with us more than a minute and already you’re starting?”

“Of course!” Raven grinned winking at Octavia, “I’ve got months of torment to make up for!”

“It’s on, nerd!” Octavia replied with a grin equally as wide upon her face.

They continued to talk until they noticed a large amount of people had left, Raven indicated that she and Clarke should get going if they were to beat traffic back to the house. Octavia let them know that she would attempt an escape from her family that evening but couldn’t make any promises and had to get going as well.

Walking with Octavia towards the other three women in uniform, Clarke’s eyes met with a set of green after saying goodbye to her friend and her stomach clenched suddenly as a small smile formed on her lips. She received a nod from the woman before she turned away and the blonde watched as the four walked towards their cars.

“Clarke?” Raven called her attention.

“Coming.” Blue eyes sought out the figure of the woman beside Octavia one more time before turning away and following her friend to say their goodbyes to Thelonious and a few others, before leaving in Raven’s car.

This time around, the radio blared some of their favorite songs and to lighten up the mood, they both began an impromptu karaoke session falling into a fit of giggles. Giggles turned to full blown laughter as they pulled beside an elderly couple who stared open mouthed at them as they sang and made dramatic hand gestures to them. Pulling into the complex, and making their way up to the third floor, Clarke couldn’t help but to think that she felt a little bit better after such an emotional rush. A little bit…but not too much.

Later that evening while taking a break from one of her projects and after Raven had returned from her errands she’d left earlier to do, Clarke sat with her laptop in her recliner browsing her social media site when a friend notification popped up. Clicking on it, an eyebrow rose as she didn’t recognize the name. She then clicked on the woman’s name to view her profile. Still without recognition, she looked at their mutual friends list and saw that not only was she friends with Octavia, but she also found Raven’s name listed.

“Raven!” Clarke bellowed hoping her roommate could hear her in her room.

“Yeah?” Raven responded poking her head out of her bedroom door.

“Who’s Alexandria Woods?” Clarke asked looking up at her and laughing as she looked into the face that slightly resembled her friends, but was currently covered in green goo that was her facial mask.

Raven grinned and winked at her reaction, “I’m sexy and you know it! And I don’t know I just accepted her not but like, thirty minutes ago or something.”

“Oh.” Clarke’s eyebrows furrowed and she looked back to her laptop.

“She’s friends with Octavia and was at the funeral today.” Raven said appearing at her side in her robe. “That’s all I know.”

Accepting the request, Clarke pointed out the rapidly growing mutual friends list that used to be just two but was steadily expanding higher and higher. “Apparently, she’s adding everyone we know?”

“Apparently.” Raven nudged her. “Aren’t you supposed to be working?”

“Taking a break.” Clarke smiled when a box popped up in the bottom corner with a familiar face attached.

**_Nathan Miller: Hi! You doin ok?_ **

Clarke sighed and responded. She’d wanted to talk to Nathan lately but hadn’t gotten much of a chance as her elusive friend remained online only at odd hours of the night when Clarke was asleep.

**Clarke Griffin: Yeah. Just coping. You? Where have you been?**

**_Nathan Miller: Just worried about you…I’m sorry I’ve been busy lately, but I’m here for you._ **

****

Clarke smiled. She and Nathan had met through an online gaming chat room but figured out that they knew the same group of people as he was one of Bellamy’s best friends. They’d hang out whenever Bellamy threw one of his infamous parties throughout high school and instantly bonded. Being with Finn put a damper on how often she’d get to hang out with him as he would let his jealousy get the better of him, despite the blonde’s assurance that they were just friends and Nathan had a husband. No matter, she still adored Nathan and Bryan.

**_Nathan Miller: How was the service? I got called in and couldn’t be there._ ** **_L_ **

**Clarke: It was alright. Short and sweet and to the point.**

**_Nathan Miller: That’s good. A lot of people show up?_ **

**Clarke: Yeah…I thought I would pass out in front of everyone**

**_Nathan Miller: Lol. That’s funny._ **

****

They continued on chatting for awhile until it grew late and Clarke remembered that she was only supposed to be taking a break from her projects and had to let Nathan go quickly. As she shut down her laptop she missed the message that popped up:

**_Alexandria Woods: Hello. Thanks for the add._ **

****

_POP! POP! POP! POP!_

“Oh yeahhhh.” Clarke groaned in pleasure as her spine realigned itself as she stretched. Looking to the clock on her phone, she rolled her eyes seeing that it was once again early in the morning and she had worked throughout the evening.

“Don’t you ever get any sleep?” Raven asked as Clarke made her way to pour herself a cup of coffee.

“This project is kicking my ass.” Clarke mumbled taking a sip without adding anything to it. Smacking her lips dramatically, she eyed the darker woman smirking, “Ahhhh!”

“Heathen!” Raven grinned at their inside joke. The blonde always took her first drink without adding anything to it, while her roommate had to add everything under the sun to sweeten it and it drove Raven crazy, “You’re so gross.”

“But ya love me anyway.” Clarke replied as she took her cup to her recliner, flipping open her laptop and hitting the power button.

“What exactly are you working on now?” Raven asked folding her legs under her as she sat on the couch.

“Family plaque for a client.” Her attention immediately went to her missed messages and an eyebrow rose seeing the one from her new ‘friend’. “Alexandria messaged me.”

“Who? Oh wait, yeah she messaged me too.” Raven shook her head. “She and I talked for a little bit, she seems cool.”

“Hmmm.” Clarke put her cup down and slid her fingers over the keys typing her response and sending it. Surprisingly, her response was replied to within a minute and she shook her head. “Apparently, she doesn’t sleep either. She just responded.”

Raven laughed and turned on the TV to watch the morning news. Something Clarke rarely did because she didn’t believe in media propaganda and hype. She instead turned back to the conversation she was having over the internet.

**_Alexandria Woods: Your speech was very touching._**

**Clarke Griffin: Thanks. I had a hard time with it but I’m glad it turned out alright.**

**_Alexandria Woods: I think you did just fine._ **

****

They continued to make awkward conversation that everyone typically makes when first talking to someone over the internet. Clarke barely noticed when Raven left for work and time seemed to fly by as she talked off and on with Alexandria and did a few things around the house. Before she realized it, it was early afternoon and having had no sleep it was starting to catch up to her.

**Clarke Griffin: So…I haven’t been to sleep all night and if I don’t go soon my eyes are going to glue themselves shut.**

**_Alexandria Woods: Ok that’s fine. I should probably do the same._ **

**Clarke Griffin: Before I go, I have to be honest…I don’t recognize your face from the funeral.**

**_Alexandria Woods: Really? That’s a shame._ **

****

Clarke found herself giggling and waited as it showed that Alexandria was typing.

**_Alexandria Woods: I was one of the four women in uniform. You looked right at me when you said goodbye to Octavia._ **

****

Clarkes eyes grew wide as she remembered exactly who the woman was and thanked whoever was listening that she wasn’t in front of the woman now as her cheeks flushed red.

**Clarke Griffin: Oh! Ok I remember now lol sorry everything was a blur. Gotta go! Have a good day!**

**_Alexandria Woods: You too, Clarke. Good Bye for now._ **

**Clarke Griffin: Bye.**

Yawning for the billionth time in the last hour, Clarke shut the laptop and slowly made her way to her room, hoping she would get some sleep before she would need to wake up and get back to work on finishing up her latest project.


	4. Chapter 4

“Please say you’ll come!”

The pleading tone made Lexa almost wish she hadn’t answered the phone call. She groaned and rubbed the back of her neck trying to think of a good excuse to deny the simple request, but found none.

It had been a few days since she’d gone to support Octavia at the funeral, and fortunate for her, she’d managed to keep busy since. Her uncle, Gustus, and Lincoln had looked out for her bar, while she was away just as they always did when she was on duty. The paperwork didn’t take long to get caught up on and everything was in order. So, she couldn’t use work as an excuse.

“Hedaaaaaaaaaa.” Octavia drawled out on the phone.

“You know I hate going out.” Lexa replied, still not wanting to cave. If she was going to be talked into going out, she wasn’t going to make it easy. “Why would you want me to go anyway?”

“Because you need a break from your work and to get out of your house! Anya said she was over the other day and you were constantly on your laptop. What’s up with that by the way?”

Lexa sighed knowing she was going to lose this battle. She couldn’t think of a plausible excuse and if she didn’t agree, she knew Octavia was liable to show up and drag her out of her house forcing her to go anyway. She had spoken to Clarke a few times but not yet that day, and the brunette was finding she looked for the woman’s profile picture to indicate she was online so they could talk. Even if their conversations were stilted and awkward at times.

“Fine!” She relented before adding, “But-”

“Oh, here it comes!”

“We go anywhere but Grounders.” Lexa said knowing her friend wasn’t expecting that response

“Seriously? That’s all?” Octavia practically squealed, “Oh my god, you rock! See you in an hour then?”

“Yup.” 

“Sweet! See you then!”

Lexa pulled her cell away from her ear as the line went dead and shook her head wondering what she just got herself into. Looking to her closet, she groaned again realizing she was going to need a nice outfit if she was to be dragged out tonight. Getting off her bed, she started rummaging through it looking for something to wear.

Within no time she was ready to go and was in her Jeep headed for Octavia’s in Arkadia. When she arrived, she honked the horn and had to laugh as the door flew open a second later and the brunette came running out, nearly falling flat on her face when her foot caught on a crack in the sidewalk.

“Damn, girl! You’re lookin’ hot!” Octavia let out a low whistle as she jumped in.

Lexa had chosen a tight fitting pair of jeans with a black midriff tank top. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail that sat high on her head and her face had the lightest touch of makeup on it but just enough to make her green eyes stand out. Realistically, she didn’t need to wear anything as she had a natural beauty that deemed makeup unnecessary.

“Buckle up.” Lexa rolled her eyes but smiled before she hit the gas, taking off down the street. The club wouldn’t take long to get to as it was only about five minutes away. “Who else is joining us?”

“Well, that would depend on where we’re going.” Octavia pulled her cell phone out and began texting.

“The Ark.” Lexa replied stopping at a red light. “So, who’s coming?”

“Perfect!” Octavia grinned and her thumbs began to blur as she quickly typed out a mass text before turning to the brunette in the drivers’ seat, “Just a few people.”

“Tell another lie.” Lexa scoffed and started driving again as the light turned green. “I knew I should have stayed home.”

“You’ll have fun, trust me!” Octavia grinned as she replied to whomever just text her. “Yes! Clarke and Raven are in!”

Hearing the blondes name caught Lexa’s attention and she looked over to her passenger for a second, “Clarke?”

“Yeah, her and Raven. They were the two I spoke to at the funeral at the end.” Octavia noticed the slight smile on her friends face and narrowed her eyes, “What?”

“Nothing.” Lexa schooled her face to appear neutral and shrugged. “We’re here.”

Before Octavia could say another word, she had parked the Jeep and jumped out, twirling her keys in hand as she made her way towards the front doors. Octavia had to jog to catch up to her and of course the meddling brunette wouldn’t let the conversation end that easily.

“I will figure it out.” Octavia said opening the door, effectively cutting off any response from her friend as they were met by the thumping bass of the loud music. 

A short time later, they stood upstairs near the pool tables with drinks in hand. Lexa leaned against the table they had procured and watched as Anya took her shot. To say a few people were going to be there was an understatement as Octavia had invited what looked close to her entire graduating class. Only half of those she’d invited shortly after the mass text was sent out.

Anya had shown up shortly after they had arrived stating that Indra had declined their offer to come out as she was busy with a family matter. Soon after that Octavia introduced them to Jasper and his girlfriend Maya, a quirky man named Monty and two women, Harper and Zoe who preferred to be called Monroe. Octavia had even invited her brother Bellamy, who had shown up with a group of other guys she hadn’t caught the names of before they all disappeared downstairs to the dance floor and bar.

Lincoln stood nearby and she had spoken to her cousin a bit before his attention was directed to his overzealous girlfriend who demanded a dance. The two had returned with another round of drinks for the group that were eagerly accepted. Seeing that Anya miss her shot, Lexa grabbed her pool cue and stepped up to the table. Bending over, she lined up her shot and was about to make her move when a voice close by interrupted.

“Is this a private party or can anyone join?” 

She looked up as the cue made contact, at the two newcomers she knew to be Raven and Clarke, before looking back at her shot that had clearly missed its target and growled in frustration before stepping away from the table to grab her drink.

“Geez, Heda, I expected more from you.” Anya taunted as she took her place.

“Bite me.” Lexa took a sip and out of the corner of her eye watched as Octavia talked animatedly with the two women who’d just arrived.

While she was normally more reserved, the brunette couldn’t help but looking the blonde woman up and down. The woman was beautiful and Lexa couldn’t help it. Ok, maybe more than just beautiful as the outfit she wore made the blonde drop dead sexy. Her hair was curled framing her face perfectly, her makeup flawless as the darkened eyeliner and mascara were applied just right to make her eyes appear smoky in the lighting of the club.

A white blouse covered a black spaghetti strap tank top, its sleeves rolled up to her elbows and bottom tied in a knot just above an exposed belly button. A sparkling gold skirt hugged her hips falling just above the knees, the perfect length for dancing without being hindered. Lexa felt her mouth go dry as she eyed the impressively toned legs that ended in low black high heels and forced herself to down the remainder of her drink. 

Snapping fingers in front of her eyes brought her attention back to the game and an amused look on Anya’s face. “Distracted much?” 

“No.” The brunette pushed off the table taking her position at the table again.  
“Yeah, right.” Anya took her seat but kept her eyes on her team lead. “You’re playing like shit tonight.”

Looking at the table before her, aside from the eight ball, there were seven still in play, the majority being hers. Biting her lip slightly, she smirked and looked back at the woman sitting. “I can change that.”

“Fifty bucks says she cleans house!” Octavia said placing the bills on the edge of the pool table.

Anya pulled a few bills from her own pocket and slid it onto the table in another pile. “I’ll match that. She’ll miss.”

“You’re both idiots.” Lexa said looking to Octavia, “And you have a gambling problem.”

“What’s the matter, Woods?” Clarke’s voice caught the brunettes’ attention and green eyes met a pair of amused blue, “You afraid you can’t do it?”

Fire erupted behind Lexa’s eyes at the challenge and her eyebrows narrowed, “Fear is weakness, Griffin.”

“Twenty-five says she can’t.” Clarke added to Anya’s pile, her eyes never leaving the brunettes. 

“Game on!” Octavia laughed as she saw the look in her friend’s eyes change to one of determination.

Lexa gripped her pool cue harder as other voices joined in and money was placed on the two respective piles. Raven, having been one of the few not to bet, was placed as mediator of the small bounty and collected the last of the bills to hold onto until the result of the game came. Another round of drinks was brought to the tables and Lincoln sat a shot down in front of his cousin.

“Give her hell!” He winked holding up his own shot and downing it.

A smile spread over the Marine’s lips as she picked up her own and nodded towards the blonde who did the same in her direction, “You’ll be regretting that bet, Griffin.” She then downed the shot before taking her stance again at the table.

Everyone seemed to have eyes only for her as they all gathered closer to watch and eagerly wait, leaving enough space for her to make her moves without being in the way. She leaned over and took her shot after surveying the table again. 

The white cue ball smoothly sailed across the table, bouncing off the opposite side panel before colliding with one of her solids. It was sent into another solid and fell into the corner pocket seconds before the first spun slowly closer to the pocket before falling in.

A mixture of groans and cheers rang around the table and Lexa looked up to see the dumbfounded look on Clarke’s face before smirking, “You care to change your wager?”

“Shit.” The blonde covered her eyes and looked to Octavia as if seeking help from her apparent error.

“Hey, don’t look at me!” Hazel eyes were swimming in merriment, or it could be from the alcohol consumed, either was a likely excuse, “You should know not to bet against me, Griffin!”

“Alright!” Anya interrupted any further statements as she looked to Lexa, “You still have three more and the eight to sink, Heda.”

“Oh, ye of little faith!” Feeling completely in her element, thanks to the drinks she’d had and the confidence booster in sinking two balls, the woman cupped her friends’ cheek and lightly patting it a couple times in jest before taking her stance again. 

In no time, another ball was sank into a side pocket and another into a far corner. A drink appeared in front of Lexa as she paused for theatrical effect, and she found unreadable blue eyes looking at her as the blonde nudged the drink closer.

“My apologies.” Clarke stepped forward and Lexa took in a breath at the blonde’s closeness. Big mistake. She got a lungful of Clarke’s spicy sweet perfume that caused her to become slightly dizzy, she had to place her hand on the table for stability. “I admit I was wrong.”

“Hey! It’s not over!” Octavia laughed as Anya pushed her. “Let’s go, Heda! Finish it!”

Lexa smirked as she accepted the mixed drink taking a sip and nodding at Clarke, “Never bet against, Octavia.”

“That’s right!” Octavia jumped up and down excitedly, “And all you suckers who did are about to be sadly disappointed.”

“Babe.” Lincoln muttered wrapping his arms around his rowdy girlfriend who grinned lovingly at him and turned back to the table while a few chuckled.

“Hold this for me?” Lexa asked looking to Clarke who immediately took the drink and stepped away from the table.

Leaning over to line up her shot, the brunette missed the look that came across blue eyes as they took in the sight of Lexa’s firm ass in her tight jeans. Stepping back, she looked at the table again and looked to Anya who stood calmly leaning against her own pool cue watching her.

“Eight ball left corner pocket.” Lexa called out, grinning at the raised eyebrows and chorus of ‘Oooohs!’ that went around the group.

Changing angles, she bit her lip and threw everything she had into her shot, sending the white cue ball flying. Turning to face Clarke, she took the glass from the blonde’s hand, their fingers lightly brushing against the others, before leaning against the wall to sip at her drink. Her lips slightly upturned at catching the woman’s eyes dart from her ass to the table to watch the final play happened. 

What seemed to take forever, really only lasted about a minute as the white ball hit two side panels before hitting Lexa’s last solid, sending it into a side pocket. It then bounced directly for the eight ball that sat before the pocket the brunette had called before the shot. 

Fingernails were bitten by many as the white lost some momentum and slowed before tapping the black. Breaths held as it moved closer to the corner and with a solid THUMP fell in, ending the game. 

“Son of a bitch.” Anya groaned and hung her head.

“Whoop whoop!” Octavia danced around the table right to Lexa where she grabbed the woman and kissed her dramatically on the lips before taking off again. “Drinks are on me!”

“I don’t think you need anymore!” Lexa called after her chuckling as she wiped her mouth but couldn’t help the giddiness that overcame her and found herself laughing along with everyone else. They watched the spunky woman grabbed Lincoln’s hand and dragged him away.

“Impressive work, Alexandria.” Clarke smiled at her after the brunette shook hands with Anya and turned towards her.

“Lexa.” Green eyes met blue as she held her hand out to the blonde. “You can call me Lexa.”

“Clarke.” Their hands met and firmly shook. “You can call me Princess, though.” With that, the blonde winked at her causing Lexa burst out laughing again before watching her walk towards Raven and a few others.


	5. Chapter 5

Clarke was enjoying herself as she stood talking to her friends. When Octavia had sent out the text message, she ignored it. She had been in the middle of a project when Raven barged into her room and started going through her closet to pick out an outfit for her to go with. Her attempts at avoiding the club were in vain as her roommate pointed out that she needed to get out and stop hibernating since she had break up with Finn.

Her eyes wondered over to Lexa who stood leaning against the pool table talking to Jasper and Monty, who were really excited about whatever they were saying their hands gesticulating emphatically in the air. 

“Why don’t you go and talk to her?” Raven said in her ear, causing her to jump. 

“Shit.” Clarke groaned as the drink in her hand spilled down her front a little as she had been about to take a sip. 

Raven laughed and reached over to the table nearby where a stack of napkins sat and handed her a few. “If you keep watching her like you have since we got here, you’re going to be mistaken for a creeper.”

“I haven’t been watching her.” Clarke glared at the woman as she wiped at her chest. “And I’m not a creeper!”

“Right.” The darker woman looked over at Lexa then back to her roommate, “And now she’s putting on a show! Just look at that ass.”

Clarke almost gave herself whiplash as her head spun around to look in the direction of the brunette, who hadn’t moved from her position against the table, much to the amusement of Raven who began laughing hysterically as she fell into the chair behind her. 

“I hate you.” Clarke sneered at her and pushed her. “That wasn’t funny.”

“No but it proved my point.” Raven wiped at the tears running down her cheeks.

“What point?” Octavia asked as she joined them, leaning against Raven’s shoulder. “Clarke, seriously, you’re supposed to drink the alcohol. Not wear it!”

“It’s her fault!” Clarke glared again at the woman who giggled. “And there’s no point.”

“Bullshit!” Raven grinned as she brought her beer to her lips, “Clarke has an eye for Lexa.”

“What?!” Octavia’s mouth fell open in shock and then her face broke out into a huge smile, “Oh, that’s priceless!”

“Will you two shut up?” Clarke hissed as the two had begun to gain the attention of a few others around them including the topic of their conversation whom she had seen glance their way twice.

“Who wants to go dancing?” Octavia shouted turning to everyone who had broken up into separate groups throughout the last hour or so. Getting a few replies, she gave Raven a pointed look before glancing at Clarke who stared suspiciously at her.

“Let’s go!” Raven grinned taking the hint and grabbing Clarke’s arm before she could protest and dragged her towards the stairs that would take them to the dance floor.

“Oh, Hedaaaaaa!” Octavia call out in a sing song voice, turning to her friend as a few of the others had followed Raven and Clarke.

“You suck, you know that?” The blonde had given up fighting the inevitable and started to dance along with the others after they’d pushed their way into the crowd of gyrating bodies once downstairs. 

“But you love me anyway!” Raven shot back as she moved her hips to the beat dramatically making the blonde laugh.

They continued to dance through the rest of the song, but as soon as the next song began, Raven took Clarke’s hand and the blonde found herself spun around until she felt her back collide with a solid chest. Her body froze and she ceased movement as she turned her head to the side where blue eyes met with green.

She grinned when she felt strong hands on her hips as Lexa steadied her. Her heart started to race as a smile broke through thin lips and the brunette began to guide her hips again to the beat. Following her lead, Clarke moved willingly against her.

Lexa took her hand and pushed Clarke out, spinning her a few times, making the blonde laugh until she was pulled back into strong arms and they began the dance anew. Their bodies fitting perfectly together as one lead the other through simple steps that to anyone else looked entirely too erotic for the dance floor.

So caught up in each other, they failed to see Raven and Octavia give knowing looks and high five one another before turning to continue their own dancing. 

They also missed the brown eyes that watched them from across the dance floor that immediately filled with anger as the two women danced closer together.

“Ha! In yo’ face, Reyes!” Clarke stuck her tongue out at her roommate who had taken a trick shot on the pool table and failed miserably. 

They’d all danced for a few songs before retreating back upstairs to reclaim their tables and cool down a bit with a new round of drinks. Raven had challenged Clarke to a game and was losing miserably, much more due to the fact that every chance she got, Lexa would help aide the blonde into taking her shots correctly.

“You cheatin’! You got help!” Raven argued slurring her words even as she was forced to take another shot for missing.

“There are no rules against it.” Lexa pointed out and winked at Clarke as the blonde leaned again to make another play.

Clarke giggled as the brunette moved flush against her to reposition the incorrect stance she’d taken on purpose. She bit her lip as a hand slid to her hip and the other to her elbow to lower it. Her heart was pounding loudly in her chest as she felt soft lips close to her ear and she was undecided as to whether the lightheadedness she was experiencing was from the drinks she’d had or the woman behind her. 

“I’m beginning to think you’re doing this on purpose.” Lexa whispered in her ear just loud enough to be heard over the music and Clarke tried to suppress a shudder but failed miserably as she felt it go down her spine. 

“And what if I am?” She turned her head slightly, suddenly aware of how close the brunette’s face was to hers, but as Lexa opened her mouth to reply, a voice in front of them made Clarke’s body stiffen.

“What the fuck are you doing, Clarke?” 

Blue eyes met brown and Clarke inhaled sharply as she stood straighter. Gone was her happy and giddy mood, instantly replaced by a frown and a sudden awareness to what was going on. She wasn’t alone as it appeared a few looked to sober up as soon as he appeared. 

“Seriously, Finn?” Raven threw her hands in the air exasperatedly and tapped Octavia on the shoulder as the woman had been in deep conversation with Harper and Monroe and hadn’t noticed the new arrival, “Killjoy is here.”

“What the fuck?” Octavia immediately jumped up from her seat and went to Clarke’s side, crossing her arms. “Who the hell invited you here?”

“Jasper did.” Finn replied looking to the woman, “I wasn’t aware that I needed a special invitation.”

Clarke felt Lexa shift to her other side, still slightly behind but enough that there was now space between them, and the blonde nearly whimpered at the loss of the warm body. She looked to Jasper who had a look of surprise on his face and held up his hands as if to stop an attack.

“I didn’t know we weren’t inviting him!” The man squeaked.

Raven growled and stepped towards him. “Why would we? They aren’t together anymore!”

“Raven, stop.” Clarke said her voice taking an unwavering tone than what she really felt. “Finn, go away. You aren’t wanted nor needed here.”

“Yeah, beat it.” Octavia added before hissing and holding her arm after the slap she’d received, “Ow!”

“Behave.” Clarke gave her a look that made hazel eyes roll as the woman shut her mouth and clench her jaw to prevent further outbursts. 

“It’s a public club, Clarke.” Finn sneered as his eyes shifted from hers to Lexa’s beside her. “Can we talk?”

“I told you we have nothing to talk about.” Her own teeth clenching, Clarke felt her body tensing even further. “Leave me alone.”

“Five minutes.” He persisted looking back to her. 

Seeing they had the attention of everyone around them, Clarke took a deep breath in and nodded. She hated having an audience and if it meant he’d leave faster she’d do it. Feeling a hand on her back she looked over at Lexa. Her face showed no emotion, but the look of concern shown through those expressive green eyes and Clarke smiled reassuringly. 

“I’ll be right back.” She looked to Octavia who rolled her eyes again and stepped aside so the blonde could walk past.

“Five minutes, Griffin.” Raven called after her as she stepped up beside the two Marines who watched the man lead the blonde away. 

Clarke followed her ex through the crowd and down the stairs until they went through the front doors leading outside. When she realized he was walking to his car after it came in sight, she stopped him beside a black Jeep, “That’s far enough.”

“Babe-” He began but was immediately interrupted.

“Let’s get something clear, first and foremost.” Clarke crossed her arms and glared at him. “We aren’t together anymore so stop calling me ‘babe’, ‘baby’ or any other term of endearment, we aren’t getting back together, and most importantly you are not welcome to approach me when I’m out with my friends regardless of who invited you!”

“This is bullshit, Clarke!” Finn growled. “I fuck up once and you go and break up with me. That’s hardly fair!”

“Fair?” Her fists clenched into balls and she felt her nails digging into her palm’s, “Are you blind as well as stupid? We’ve been falling apart for weeks! We constantly argue and never have any fun anymore! It’d be unfair to keep pretending everything is fine when it’s not!”

His eyes narrowed and his voice took a dangerously low tone, “How long have you been sleeping with the dyke?”

“Excuse me?” Clarke’s anger flared even more as he fed the growing inferno with that question, “The fuck you just say?”

“You heard me.” Finn took a step closer to her, “I watched you two dancing and how close you were when I walked up to you a few minutes ago. You’re fucking her, aren’t you?”

Stepping closer was the wrong move, as it gave Clarke the opportunity to lash out with her closed fist and punch him. Adrenaline pumped through her as she felt a give in his face and her knuckle. As he bent over after bringing his hands to his nose, she cried out in pain and jumped back.

“Son of a bitch!” She brought the injured hand up to her chest and cradled it as tears formed in her eyes. 

“You fucking broke my nose!” Finn howled nasally as he pulled bloodied hands away from his face and he looked to her. 

Seeing the crazed look in his eyes, Clarke’s face paled and she questioned whether hitting him was a good idea. She was about to retreat when she found hands on her shoulders pulling her back and Finn being forced back by three pissed off Marines.

“Your five minutes is up, asshole.” Raven yelled as she pulled Clarke away. 

“Who the fuck do you bitches think you are?” He stupidly began to shove back at the hands pushing him away.

“Fall back.” Lexa said calmly although the tense jaw and intense look on her face said an entirely different story. “And go home.”

“Fuck you, dyke.” Finn shoved her again, “You think you’re a badass? C’mon and fight me, bitch. Fight me!”

“Stand down.” Lexa commanded as Octavia lunged for the man. Anya had to wrap her arms around the woman in a bear hug in order to pull her back to keep her from doing any damage. 

Clarke stood out of harm’s way and watched as her ex kept egging the woman before him. He was becoming more agitated as Lexa kept calm and batted away his hands expertly whenever they came close enough to shove her. Clarke could feel her heart beating in her chest, her swelling hand throbbed to the same beat, but nothing could take her attention from the scene before her as she feared that one of the two were going to get seriously injured. Even though deep down she knew that it wouldn’t be Lexa.

“Fight me!” Finn bellowed trying and failing again to get the brunette to engage in a fight.

“Fall back.” Lexa repeated and stood her ground, “And go home.”

“Scared ass bitch! You try to be a man with your fake fucking dick, why don’t you man up and fight me?” Finn tried again to lunge after her.

Clarkes mouth dropped open to warn her but it fell silent as she watched Lexa stand still until the last possible second before swiftly spinning out of the way, throwing an arm out as Finn fell forward and wrapped it around his neck bringing her other across until he was in a headlock. The blonde started forward, but Raven’s grip tightened, and she was forced to stay where she stood. 

“Heda!” Both Anya and Octavia yelled knowing this situation could turn worse in a split second if no one intervened.

Finding her voice again, Clarke yelled, “Lexa!”

Her eyes widened as the brunette immediately looked up from where she stood and her once green eyes appeared nearly black, her pupils dilating to the point the green was just barely visable even from a few feet away. Lexa’s head slightly tilted as she kept her eyes on Clarke who tried again to get to her but wasn’t getting anywhere with Raven holding her back.

Keeping her gaze, the blonde shook her head, “He’s not worth it.” 

She could see Lexa’s internal struggle as the tension in her arms tightened before the grip around Finn’s neck loosened, and he was sent to the ground gasping for air. The brunette stepped back breathing hard as she looked down menacingly at the man and crossed her arms.

“Fall back.” Lexa repeated for the final time, “And go home!”

“Bitch.” Finn choked out spitting on the ground as he picked himself up breathing hard himself as he tried to fill his lungs.

“That’s enough, Finn!” A male voice said loudly, and Clarke turned to see Bellamy and his group of friends had joined the small crowd that she just now noticed was forming around them. “Let’s go!”

“Are you ok?” Raven asked catching her friend’s attention as she looked at her hand. “Damn, Rocky! That looks like it hurts.”

“It’s fine.” Clarke said keeping her hand against her chest as she watched Finn be dragged reluctantly to his car. “I’ll live.”

“Fucking asshole.” Octavia growled as she was at last released from Anya’s grip when the man was forced into the car and drove away. “I still don’t see what you saw in him.”

“Can we not do this right now?” Using her good hand, blue eyes shut tightly and her fingers pinched the bridge of her nose to help alleviate the growing headache she could feel coming on. 

“Shit, Clarke!” Octavia reached for her hand and gently pulled at the arm away to inspect it. “That’s definitely broken.”

“Fuck my life.” Clarke groaned as she took her hand back. “How am I supposed to work?”

“Look on the bright side,” Raven grinned and shrugged, “At least you nailed him good!”

A small smile formed on Clarkes face and she chuckled, “I did, didn’t I?”

“Fuck yeah!” Octavia beamed as she clapped Clarke on the shoulder, “Did you see his face? It’s gonna have a pretty mark for awhile.”

“I hope so!” Clarke winced as she moved her bad hand and groaned, “Damn, that hurts!”

“C’mon, Rocky.” Raven wrapped her arm around her shoulders and smirked, “The hospital is around the corner.”

“Thank god for small cities.” Clark murmured as she was pushed towards the sidewalk. Her eyes sought out the brunette who had come to her rescue, but found that both her and Anya had disappeared. “Where’d Lexa go?”

“Probably home.” Octavia replied looking around, “Anya is going to try to calm her down.”

Clarke frowned and looked to her friend, “Weren’t they drinking?”

“Anya only had one drink when we all first got here.” Octavia smiled reassuringly, “I watched her drink water the remainder of the night.”

“Thanks, O.” Clarke hugged her friend. “I’m going to get this checked out.”

“And leave me here?” Octavia laughed, “Hell, I’m going with you!”

“I’ll drive.” Lincoln stepped up beside her, “I’m ok to drive, let’s go.”

After saying their goodbye’s to what remained of their group, the four made their way to Lincoln’s SUV and he drove to the emergency room. As Clarke waited to be seen, her thoughts were clouded by the images of the events that happened that evening and her face flushed remember the feel of Lexa’s body against her. She was glad no one was paying attention to her as Octavia leaned against Lincoln with her eyes closed and Raven sat playing a game on her cell phone.

She didn’t know what to think about Lexa and the way her body responded, but she’d be damned if it didn’t feel amazing to feel like that again. She had never felt that much of a connection with anyone before. Even back when she had first started dating Finn months ago, it was nothing compared to the heat that just one look from Lexa would cause. And Clark knew she was a goner. 

A frown appeared at the thought that she didn’t get the chance to thank the brunette for helping her or for the great time she had before they were interrupted. Sighing, she shut her eyes and leaned her head back against the back of the chair she sat in and tried not to think about the pain radiating from her hand.

She hated doctors and knew that it was going to be a long night.


	6. Chapter 6

Three days later…

Lexa grunted as she lifted two heavy crates from the stack outside and made her way through the back door. Her weekly shipment had been late coming in and she’d spent her time unloading the crates for the last half hour, taking everything inside while her employee’s accepted them to organize in the storage area behind the bar when they weren’t busy helping fill drink orders for the patrons in front.

Her muscles were proudly on display as she wore only a sports bra and basketball shorts, having removed her tank top when she broke out in a fine layer of sweat. It had been a hot day out and the evening hadn’t lent much of a reprieve though the sun had set a couple hours before. Once inside, she sighed as the cool air crept over her heated skin and made her way to the storage area. 

“You know we have a dolly for a reason?” Lincoln chuckled as she set down her burden at his feet.

“I need the work out.” Lexa quipped. 

“Yeah, right.” He scoffed rolling his eyes as he poked her bicep, “I think hardly.”

“Ok, maybe I don’t need it, but you do.” Lexa smacked his stomach a couple times, “You’re getting a bit rounded there, Pudgy.”

“I am not pudgy!” Lincoln growled as he lunged after her. They both started laughing as she easily avoided him and made her way to the front of the bar.

“Go finish bringing that shit inside, Pudgy.” Lexa taunted winking at him, “I’ll pretend not to see you using the dolly.”

“You’re such a bitch!” He called after her as she made her way through the door leading into the main part of the bar.

Lexa chuckled as she slipped behind the counter and grabbed a clean glass to fill with ice water. She nodded at Roan who was mixing drinks with ease at the far end of the counter, sliding the drinks to the women in front of him who’d ordered them. 

“You know, I’m pretty sure there’s some dress code you’re breaking right now.”

Green eyes darted and rolled at the sound of her friends’ voice as a stool was dragged back and the smaller woman hopped up, leaning against the counter in front of her. “My bar, my rules, Octavia.”

“You’re going to kill your customers looking like that.” Octavia smirked as she reached over the counter and plucked a cherry from the tray of fruit garnishments.

As if to prove her point, there was a loud crashing noise that came from behind her and they both turned to see Raven leaning against a nearby table laughing hysterically. At her feet was an upturned chair and flailing legs that eventually righted themselves and green eyes widened as Clarke stood up with a grin on her own face.

“I’m ok!” The blonde laughed pulling the chair to an upright position and pushing the darker woman, “Thanks, ass!”

Lexa shook her head as she attempted to contain the laughter that threatened to escape her lips but once her eyes met blue, all hope was lost as an eyebrow raised and arms crossed over the blondes’ chest, causing the brunette to start laughing harder. 

“This place should have a caution sign; it’s hazardous to one’s health.” Clarke stated as she walked up to Octavia’s side.

“Nope, just yours.” Lexa winked and put her glass down.

“Is the work uniform for this place always this enticing, and if so where can I sign up?” Raven asked as she joined the other two at the counter.

“You wouldn’t be able to handle the attention, Rae.” Octavia snorted, stealing another cherry from in front of her.

“Hey!” Lexa slapped her hand before it made its way to the woman’s mouth, “Back off my cherries, Blake!”

“But I love your cherries!” Octavia grinned deviously as her friends beside her started giggling at the innuendo. 

“Can I get a drink over here?” A man asked interrupting the response Lexa was about to shoot back.

“Sure thing!” Green eyes narrowed at the three women in front of her, “Behave, children. I know the owner of this place and will have you removed!”

Octavia waited until the brunette had stepped away to take the man’s order before piping off with, “Promises, promises.” 

Lexa threw her towel at the woman before she began filling the drink order. A few more were put up and promptly handed out as the brunette worked the bottles needed as they were tossed in the air and caught with the experience of a pro. Once the rush slowed a bit, she wiped down the counters and turned to find blue eyes upon her.

“Where’d the troublemakers go?” She asked as she pulled a glass out to make another drink.

“Bathroom.” Clarke replied not even attempting to be subtle about her eyes raking up and down the brunette’s body. 

“Gotcha.” Lexa focused on what her hands were doing as she pulled a few bottles out that she needed. She’d been avoiding the blonde for the last couple of days, afraid of her reaction to what she’d seen that night. Now that the woman was in front of her, she hadn’t a clue as to what to say to strike up conversation with her. Clarke unnerved her and Lexa wasn’t sure exactly how to handle that.

“So, do you always save damsels in distress and then ignore them for days after?” 

“Can’t say that I do.” Lexa slid the drink she’d just made in front of the blonde and leaned against the countertop. “How’s your hand?”

“Fractured.” Clarke lifted her right hand displaying the cast that wrapped around it, “Wasn’t as bad as I thought at first, a couple weeks to heal and a few more of therapy to regain motor function. Nothing I haven’t done before unfortunately.”

“Ouch.” Lexa winced, “At least it’s not broken.”

“True.” Clarke picked up the glass that was set in front of her and took a sip, unable to contain the softest of moans. “That’s good.”

“Thank you.” Grabbing a permanent marker, the brunette nodded towards the cast, “May I?”

“Sure.” Clarke placed her arm on the counter for her. She turned it palm up where there wasn’t any writing and continued to sip at her drink while watching the woman before her.

Trying her best to ignore the blue eyes so intently watching her, Lexa started moving the marker over the cast in a series of loops. She’d felt bad about not asking about the injury sooner. She opened her mouth to say something but was quick to close it again as words seemed to elude her. 

Making the symbol bolder, she wrote a few words before capping the marker and admiring her work. She looked up to the see the blondes’ reaction and saw a smile appear as the words were read.

“What does it mean?” Clarke asked as she continued to look at her hand.

Lexa smiled when blue eyes met hers before looking back down at the hand and placed a finger on the symbol, tracing the loops. “This is the symbol for strength.” She then moved to the words written beneath it, “Fis op fas, Yu badas gada.” 

“And that means?” Clarke prodded when Lexa fell silent.

“Heal fast, you badass girl.” Her breath caught as the blonde started laughing and she knew at that moment she liked hearing the sound. “It’s Trigedasleng.”

“Thank you.”

“Welcome.” 

As Clarke opened her mouth to say something else, a horrible screeching noise came from the speakers in the corner on the other side of the room where a small sound booth sat. Lexa immediately jumped the counter and ran for the corner where her DJ was furiously pounding away at the buttons in front of her and rearranging cables.

“You mind telling me why my bar sounds like a lawn mower having an orgasm?!” Lexa bellowed over the noise as she covered her ears.

“Sorry!” The woman shouted back as she continued to work to stop the obnoxious noise.

Looking about the area, Lexa found the main cord leading from the base board to the wall socket and unplugged it. A collective sigh rang throughout the room as everyone uncovered their ears when the noise stopped. 

Noticing all the eyes on her, Lexa smiled sweetly, “Sorry everyone, technical difficulties! Next round is on the house!”

Nods of approval and a chorus of cheers rang out as the patrons of the bar congregated to the counter to order a new drink. Turning her fiery eyes to her DJ, Lexa’s jaw clenched as she glared at the woman, “What the hell happened?” 

“I don’t know!” Dark eyes looked back at her momentarily as the woman moved about the booth, “One minute I was making a routine song swap, the next that fucking shit happened!”

“Echo, is it?” Lexa asked vaguely remembering the name associated with the woman Lincoln hired to replace their previous DJ who’d quit while she was on duty recently. At the slight nod the woman gave her, Lexa grabbed her arm to be sure she had her full attention, “Fix it or else the cost of all these drinks I have to give out to keep everyone happy will be coming out of your paycheck.”

“Thank god I showed up, huh?” Raven’s chipper voice caught the brunette’s attention as she walked up to the sound booth and began looking at everything.

“You can fix this?” Lexa looked at her in disbelief.

Raven huffed and rolled her eyes as she began moving cables, “You’re looking at the best damned mechanical engineer in all of Arkadia, what do you think?”

“Fix it,” Lexa smirked as the darker woman looked at her, “And then we’ll talk.”

“Game on.” Raven went to work as Echo watched and learned. 

Feeling confident the woman knew what she was doing, Lexa made her way back to the counter to assist in making the drinks Roan was sure to need help making. Clarke still sat on her stool, Octavia reclaimed hers, the two talked adamantly about a new show that had been on the night before. The brunette kept finding her eyes straying to the blonde as she smiled and spoke to their mutual friend, arguing whatever point she was trying to make and laughing when it was rebutted by Octavia who laughed as well. 

“So, you’re a Marine, a bar owner, you speak another language, and you can make a mean drink.” Clarke’s voice directed at her, made green eyes look up from the bottles she was selecting for another round of shots for a group of guys. “Is there anything else I should know?”

“I have many skills.” Lexa deadpanned causing the blonde to laugh hard.

“Ok, Warrior Princess.” 

The remark brought a smile to the brunette’s lips as she continued to handle the drinks being ordered. A few minutes later, the bar filled with music and a chorus of happy cheers once again. A rather smug looking Raven appeared at the bar making the woman behind it look at her and shake her head.

“That was quick.” Lexa commented as she wiped down the counter and threw the towel over her shoulder. 

“It was a piece of cake, really. The auxiliary cable going from your base was crossing with the wires of-”

“English, Reyes!” Octavia interrupted the excited mechanic. “We’re not all fucking mechanics.”

Raven grinned toothily and shrugged, “I fixed it.”

“I’ll call you if anything else breaks.” Lexa said before looking to her bartender who was walking behind her, “Roan, will you please give these ladies whatever they want for the evening?”

“No problem.” The man replied smiling at them, “I was just running to the back to get another case of beer and I’ll be right back.”

“You’re being rather nice tonight, Heda.” Octavia eyed her, “What’s got you in such a good mood?”

“Maybe the moons have aligned just right to strike the mood of generosity.” Lexa moved out of Roan’s way as he returned and then looked to the clock on the wall. “If you’ll excuse me ladies, I have to go slave away in my office for a bit.”

“Party pooper.” Octavia grumbled stealing another cherry. “Adulting is lame.”

“Well, some of us can’t afford the luxury of sitting on our asses.” Lexa’s eyes narrowed and she took the tray and moved it out of arms reach. “Roan, make sure she doesn’t eat anymore of my garnishments. Stab her hand if you have to.”

“Yes, boss.” The man chuckled as he continued making the drinks the three women had ordered.

“Have a good night.” Lexa said as she turned in the direction of the metal stairs that would lead her up to her office.

“Good night, Lexa.” Clarke called after her causing her to pause.

Green eyes met blue before the brunette nodded and continued to the end of the bar. Once upstairs, she leaned against her closed door and groaned. Distraction was something she did not need at that moment and she just knew the blonde downstairs would quickly become one if she allowed her to.

A knock at her door and it opening brought Lexa’s attention from the laptop in front of her. She glanced at Lincoln as he popped his head and motioned for him to come in before finishing up what she was working on.

“I just wanted to let you know that it’s all clear downstairs and Echo’s been put on cleaning duty.” Lincoln sat on the leather couch to the right of the desk and kicked his feet up. “It was a good night.”

Lexa looked to the clock and sighed as she noticed it was almost three in the morning. Closing her laptop she rubbed at her eyes, “I’m going to go permanently crossed eyed.”

“I don’t know how you do it.” He chuckled as she stood and stretched. “I made dad do the computer stuff while you were gone for that very reason.”

“Of course you did.” She picked up her cell phone as she just realized the flashing notification light and an eyebrow rose as she read the text that had been sent a few hours before.

Unsaved Number (12:58am): You should feel privileged. A damsel shouldn’t have to work this hard to get the attention of her Savior. 

“I’m gonna kill your girlfriend.” Lexa glared at her cousin as she grabbed her keys and kicked his leg, “Let’s go.”

“What did she do now?” Lincoln asked grunting as he stood up and followed her out of the office, allowing her room to lock the office door before continuing down the metal stairs.

“She’s meddling.” She looked around the bar to see that it had sufficiently been cleaned before looking to Roan who stood cleaning glasses, “Lock up behind you.”

“And how is she meddling?” Lincoln pried as the cousins walked out the front door, continuing the conversation.

“She just is.” Lexa grumbled as she hit the alarm button on her Jeep. The lights flashed indicating the system had been deactivated and she turned to the smirking man beside her. “What?”

“Oh, nothing.” 

“Seriously, Lincoln, what?” She crossed her arms and eyed him.

“Who is it?” He asked mirroring her.

“Who is who?” An eyebrow rose in question even though she had a pretty good idea where he was leading this conversation.

“Whoever Octavia’s helping that’s got your panties in a twist.” He chuckled as her mouth opened and closed, but didn’t say a word. “Oh, this is rich!”

“Shof op.” Lexa growled and turned to open her door, his next words stilled her movement for a brief moment.

“Reshop, Leksa.” The teasing tone was still there.

“Goodnight, Lincoln.” She nodded before getting in, starting the Jeep and driving away.

In the rearview mirror, she glimpsed the sign for Grounders getting smaller and smaller until finally it was out of view when she turned onto the highway from the main road. Being so early in the morning, the roads were clear and in no time she was at home, stripping off the tank top she’d thrown back on shortly after entering her office as well as the shorts, slipping into just a pair of light pajama bottoms and t-shirt.

Before settling in, she decided to grab her cell phone and open her texts to the unknown number conversation and send a reply.

(3:19am): Would a damsel grant her Savior a reprieve just this once?

She groaned at how corny the text came across but she’d hit send before chickening out. Realizing the time, she quickly added another reply.

(3:20am) I’m sorry for the late –or is it early?- text…I just got in and saw yours.

Closing out of that conversation she opened up another and an evil look flashed through her eyes as she typed out her last text before putting her cell down.

(3:20am) Octavia, you are going to pay dearly for your meddling. Sincerely, Heda.

Chuckling to herself as she imagined the reaction her friend would have, she punched her pillow a couple times before resting her head and shutting her eyes. She just had this feeling tomorrow was going to be interesting.


	7. Chapter 7

Hot Stuff (3:19am): Would a Damsel grant her Savior a reprieve just this once?  
Hot Stuff (3:20am): I’m sorry for the late –or is it early?- text…I just got in.

Blue eyes read the words over for what was probably the thirtieth time since they opened. She was dumbfounded and couldn’t even be mad at Octavia who had evidently stolen her phone at some point last night, sending Lexa a text. She giggled at the appropriate contact name and immediately winced as a shooting pain erupted behind her eyes.

“Goddammit, O!” Clarke hissed as she pushed herself off her bed and dragged her feet down the hall where she could see that her friend was still sprawled out on the couch from where she’d passed out earlier that morning. 

“Ooomph!!” The brunette grunted as Clarke sat on top of her stomach, “What the hell, Griffindor?”

“I’m gonna kill you.” She waved her phone in front of bloodshot eyes, “Damsel? Savior? What is this ‘Once Upon A Time’?”

“I can’t believe Regina replied.” A grin formed as she read the responses.

“Regina?” Clarke grabbed her cell back, “If she’s Regina, who does that make me? I’ll be damned if I’m that fairy fucking Robin Hood!”

“Of course not,” Octavia wiggled her eyebrows, “Emma!”

“Seriously? Clarke punched the woman’s arm and bounced again on her stomach causing her to grunt, “Stop it, O!”

“What are you two yelling about?” Raven grouched as she appeared in the kitchen.

“Lexa text Clarke back last night. Ooomph! Dammit, get off me, woman!” Octavia easily lifted the blonde and dropped her onto the cushion as she slid out from underneath. 

“It worked?” Raven’s somber mood lifted as she high fived the brunette who had joined her in the kitchen for a second before heading down the hall, “Right on!”

“I hate you both.” Clarke grouched as she looked back to her phone and the texts she’d yet replied to.

“You do not, shut up.” Raven slumped onto the couch next to her as the tell signs of the coffeemaker brewing started, “You like her, we see it, so we’re helping you do something about it.”

“I just barely broke it off with Finn, I’m not ready for another relationship.” She grumbled pulling up her Facebook and scrolling through her Newsfeed. 

“Who said anything about a relationship?” Octavia asked making her way from the bathroom and curling up in the recliner. “What time is it anyway?”

“Almost ten.” Clarke shot her a look ignoring the first initial question, “So, that’s why you two took such a long bathroom trip? To come up with the plan to get me drunk, distracted, and steal my phone?”

“Yep!” Raven grabbed the remote and turned the TV on, “Worked too, so be grateful.”

“You’re lucky I have this cast,” Clarke waved her right hand. “Otherwise, I’d be kicking your ass right now.”

“Hey! It wasn’t my idea, it was hers!” Raven defended throwing a pillow at Octavia, who’d kicked back and shut her eyes, “Take credit for your doing, bitch.”

“Oh, I am.” The brunette mumbled adjusting the thrown pillow underneath her head, “It’s just too fucking early and I’m too hung over to be dealing with your ass right now.”

Clarke chuckled as the two continued their typical word sparing and turned back to look at her phone. Getting an idea, she opened her texts.

(9:49am): You can order Octavia to run laps hung over, right?

She wasn’t sure how soon she’d receive a reply as it had been late when Lexa text her. She was surprised when her phone vibrated almost immediately.

Hot Stuff (9:50am): Certainly. I am her superior.  
(9:50am): Good! Make her pay.  
Hot Stuff (10:51am): She got you that drunk, huh?  
(9:51am): Amongst other things.

Clarke looked up at the woman in question who had jumped and pulled her phone out of her pocket. A frown appeared on her face and the recliner shot forward.

“Shit!” Octavia exclaimed as she grabbed for her shoes under the coffee table.

“What’s up?” Raven asked tearing her eyes from whatever show that was on to the woman as she started searching the area for her jacket.

“I have to go.” The woman growled as she couldn’t find it. “I’m late.”

“For?” Clarke prodded shifting on the couch and finding she was sitting on the jacket in question.

“A meeting apparently.” Octavia tossed out as she made her way to the door, shoving her arms in the sleeves, “Catch you guys later!”

Before either of the roommates could say a word, she was gone, and Clarke buried her face in the couch cushion to stifle the laughter that erupted from her. Raven looked at her as if she’d grown another head, causing her to laugh even harder.

“She’s gonna kill me.” She wiped at the tears streaming down her face and looked to her phone that vibrated.

Hot Stuff (9:56am): It’ll be dealt with swiftly.

“Why is she going to kill you?” Raven asked, still confused by the events that had just taken place. 

“You’ll see.” Clarke grinned cheekily as she stood up and made a pit stop in the kitchen for a cup of coffee before retreating to her room.

Placing her cup and phone on her nightstand, she grabbed at the plastic bag she had been using to be able to take a shower and slipped it over her cast. After pulling the pre-tied knot tighter with her teeth, she made her way to the bathroom to start up the shower. Hangovers were the worst, and nothing sounded better at that moment than a shower and curling up in bed. Well, maybe some greasy fast food. Her cast made it a bit difficult to fully enjoy her time, so ten minutes after stepping in, she was stepping back out and walking back into her room. 

On the nightstand next to her coffee cup was a Gatorade and two Advil. She smiled at the message behind the offering, knowing it was Raven’s way of apologizing for her part in last night’s shenanigans. She took them and laid back down, covering her eyes and sighing. 

She must have dozed off because the next she knew, Raven’s laughter and body falling onto her bed jostling her to the side. Groaning, she covered her head with her pillow. “Seriously, Raven?”

“Dude, you have to see this.” The bed bounced up and down causing Clarke to growl and hit the woman with her pillow.

Taking her roommate’s phone, she saw it was opened to a picture posted to Lexa’s profile. It was obvious that it had been taken after their workout as Octavia stood bent over her hands on her knees, Indra’s were on her sides, and Anya’s were above her head. Lexa’s face glistened with sweat but smiled brightly at the camera for the selfie.

The caption read: ‘Feeling GREAT after our workout. Them…not so much!’

“Some meeting, huh?” Clarke chuckled as she handed the phone back over to her friend. 

“I’d hate to be her right now.” Raven agreed standing up. “Come on, lazy ass, we got shit to do.”

“Yes, mom!” Clarke laughed as her pillow was thrown at her face. “Give me a minute.”

It was late afternoon by the time they had finally left the house, Clarke had slept most of the day away. While she waited in the car for Raven to get done picking up her paycheck from inside her work, the blonde pulled out her phone and opened up her texts. Seeing one sent from Lexa hours ago she opened it up.

Hot Stuff (1:03pm): Does this meet your expectations?

She opened the attached file to see the same picture the brunette had posted online. She flipped the screen and giggled at the next photo which was of just Octavia glaring at the camera still bent over like she was in the group shot. The woman had certainly appeared to have been put through a rigorous work out as even through the picture, Clarke could see the sweat dripping off her and the pain in her eyes from aching muscles.

(4:38pm): Remind me never to mess with you. 

She looked out the window to see if Raven was coming back to the car yet, when she wasn’t, she looked back to her phone that vibrated a moment later.

Hot Stuff (4:39pm): I would never subject you to something like that. No worries.  
(4:39pm): She hates me, doesn’t she?  
Hot Stuff (4:40pm): Nope! I told her last night she would pay dearly for something.  
(4:40pm): My hero! I didn’t really want to deal with her today lol

Clarke looked up as Raven slid into the driver’s seat and started the car up. “What took you so long?”

“Bossman had to introduce me to the new mechanic.” Dark eyes rolled as she gripped the wheel. “Stupid, cocky, arrogant prick!”

“Whoa!” Clarke chuckled at her friend’s comments, “Like him already?”

“The ass had the audacity to tell me that if I ever needed help with some heavy lifting, to let him know and he’d take care of it!” Raven growled, “Like I’m some fucking dainty fragile woman!”

“The nerve!” Clarke gasped dramatically, “We can’t have that! Come! We must notify Father at once so that he and the other menfolk can sit this man down and give him a stern talking to!”

That did the trick, Raven started laughing hysterically, wiping at her eyes that started to fill with tears, “Oh, that was good!”

“Thank you, thank you! I’ll be here all evening!” Clarke replied before looking down at her phone again.

Hot Stuff (4:41pm): I don’t think she could do anything today lol  
(4:45pm): Well, Hero, however am I going to thank you?  
Hot Stuff (4:46pm): No ‘thank you’ is necessary. Just doing my job.

Clarke scoffed and rolled her eyes, glancing up as she thought about what she should say. Lexa was very intriguing. She could tell the woman had many layers to her personality and the blonde was feeling determined to unravel them all for some odd reason. Looking back at her phone she smiled before typing her response. A moment later, her phone vibrated.

Hot Stuff (4:48pm): Dinner would be great. Does 8 work for you? I have to go into work for a bit, before I’m free.  
(4:48pm): 8 works. See you then.

That gave her a couple hours to figure out what to do, her mind blanking on her she grumbled, “Fuck!”

“What?” Raven looked over at her at the expletive. “What’s wrong?”

“Lexa and I are having dinner tonight, and I have no idea what to do.” Clarke started rolling her hair around her fingers as she tried thinking of something.

“You move quick.” Her roommate winked at her and chuckled as she was backhanded in the arm. “Dinner and a movie?”

“Too cliché.” She shook her head, “I want to go somewhere fun.”

“I got it!” Raven grinned as she pointed out the windshield to the right, “How about there?”

“Seriously?” Clarke looked at the building and then grinned, “Yeah! That’ll work!”

Plan now set, she looked at the time and her heart started pounding a little harder. Dates were out of her element and she rarely initiated them, so the acceptance by Lexa both excited her and elicited a great deal of nervousness to her resolve. Raven chuckled at her predicament, knowing full well the inner mantra her friend was now going through and decided she’d help in any way she possibly could that evening. 

7:51pm

Clarke groaned as she shut off her phone screen after she’d checked the time for what seemed like the millionth time in the last ten minutes. She looked at her choice of clothing and rolled her eyes again, thinking she should have worn something different. But Raven had insisted that she’d picked the right attire.

7:52pm

She really should have just waited a little bit longer before showing up at the meeting place. It would have saved her a great deal of stress, but no, she had decided to show up early and torture herself by sitting alone and constantly staring at her phone in hopes it would relieve her of her agony and letting it be time for her date to show.

7:54pm

Looking down again at her faded jeans and black converse shoes, she wiped her palm on her knees and sighed as she fidgeted with her cast, ignoring her inner voice that told her again that she should have worn something other than the midriff t-shirt and jeans. Raven had promised her that her outfit would definitely catch Lexa’s attention, while still being appropriate for their evening. She was counting on that promise to be upheld.

7:55pm

“I suppose I should live up to my title of ‘hero’ and put you out of your nervous misery.” Lexa’s voice to her right caused the blonde to jump slightly. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Clarke jumped up excitedly, “Lexa! You came!”

A knowing smile appeared on thin lips as the brunette stood before her, “That’s typically what happens when someone invites me out, I tend to show up.” Her head tilted slightly, and her eyebrow rose, “Although, from watching you the last couple of minutes, I can see you thought otherwise.”

“Yeah, well, uhm…” Clarke felt her cheeks begin to flush and she looked away from those intense green eyes. Searching for words, she came up empty handed yet again, and she huffed in frustration before looking back at Lexa who chuckled.

Arms wrapped around the blonde’s body and for a brief moment she tensed before relaxing into the strong one holding her. The hug was short, but did the trick to relax her nerves only to jump start again when Lexa pulled away and for the briefest of moments, their lips touched. Wide eyes looked to Lexa as she stepped away smiling at her.

“There.” The brunette brushed her thumb over Clarke’s lips and then took her left hand mindful of the cast on her right, “The ice is broken and we can proceed with what I’m sure will be an awesome evening.”

Clarke cleared her throat as they began walking towards the parks exit, her mind still reeling from the brief kiss of Lexa’s lips and the fact that her face seemed to be permanently red. When she felt a tug on her hand, she looked up to see that Lexa had stopped and they were standing just outside of the park. Confused blue eyes looked to amused green, realization dawned on her that Lexa was waiting for her to lead the way.

“Smooth, Woods.” Clarke face palmed herself with her cast and she began laughing at her own expense. “Do you always cause your dates brains to turn to mush?”

“Not really.” Lexa shrugged and then winked at her, “Only you.”

“Just me?” It was Clarke’s turn to raise her eyebrow.

“Yeah, I haven’t been on a date in a long time.” 

The brutal honesty behind the simple statement, made Clarke’s breath catch as she looked at her date. Sadness appeared in Lexa’s eyes, but as quickly as it appeared it went away and the spark that always seemed to be present whenever blue eyes connected with those green, shone brightly if not brighter than before. 

“So, where to?” Lexa asked bringing them back to the reason they stopped, “I believe you promised me dinner.”

“That I did.” Clarke smiled and squeezed her hand before leading them down the sidewalk in the direction they needed to go. “You look fantastic, by the way.”

“Thank you.” A slight blush tinged tanned cheeks, “I wasn’t sure what we were going to be doing, so I winged it.”

Looking the brunette up and down, Clarke smirked and shrugged slightly, “It’ll have to do.”

She started giggling as a strong jaw dropped in shock and eyebrows narrowed as they walked, “I’m offended.” 

Clarke laughed when she was playfully shoved and tried shoving Lexa back, but the woman barely budged. “Damn! Are all Marine women built like you and Octavia?”

“Not really. Our job is strenuous and keeps us on our feet. Our bodies need to be in their best condition in order to do so.”

“It looks good on you.” Clarke really wanted to face palm herself at how corny that sounded, even to her own ears and wondered how she even started the flirtatious banter.

“Well, you know what they say? Work hard, play harder.” Lexa winked at her making the blonde laugh and shake her head.

“You’re incorrigible.” 

“I try.”

They fell into a comfortable silence as they continued to walk, their arms swaying slightly as they fell in step together. Clarke kept stealing glances at the woman beside her before looking away when she was caught staring. She found she couldn’t quit smiling in the brunette’s presence and hoped it was a good sign for what she had planned.

As if reading her mind, Lexa chose that moment to ask, “So, where are you planning on taking us for this hero’s dinner?” 

Clarke stopped as they approached a corner, waiting for the light to change, before nodding in the direction of their destination that sat on the other side of the street. “How do you feel about go kart racing?”


	8. Chapter 8

Clarke stopped as they approached a corner, waiting for the light to change, before nodding in the direction of their destination that sat on the other side of the street. “How do you feel about go kart racing?”

Lexa looked in the direction Clarke nodded to and if it was possible for her grin to grow any bigger, it did, “Oh, you are so on!”

The light turned green and the walk indicator flashed, they both ran across the street and down the sidewalk to the building that had a huge checkered flag neon sign that flashed FAST LANES.

“Have you been here before?” Clarke asked catching her breath as they walked through the front door.

“Nope.” Lexa looked around the room they had come into. “I can’t say I’ve ventured much around Arkadia.”

“Well! Then you will absolutely love this!” The blonde was vibrating with excitement and led them to the front desk where she banged on the bell on top of it. “Hey, Harp!”

“Clarke!” Lexa smiled at the woman who she had spoken briefly to the night at the bar, “What’s cookin’ good lookin’?”

“Got any available karts?” Clarke nodded in Lexa’s direction, “We have a newb that needs to be introduced to the turf.”

“Oh! Fantastic! Yeah! We got plenty of room! You’re just in time for our next group race!” Harper looked to the brunette and smiled at her, “You’ll need to read over and sign our consent forms and all that jazz, though.”

“Of course.” Lexa nodded as papers were handed over to her and a pen. She read and signed quickly, feeling her own excitement bubble up as Clarke stood next to her bouncing from one foot to the other impatiently.

“Now, Clarke, I’m gonna look the other way and not see your cast as long as you promise to behave and don’t do anything stupid.” Harper warned sliding over a bundle to the blonde. Looking to Lexa she cocked her head slightly, “What size, hun?”

“Size?” Lexa looked between the two blondes in confusion until Clarke unraveled the bundle given to her to reveal a jumpsuit. “Seriously?”

“This isn’t just any ordinary indoor kart racetrack.” Clarke sassed, “Come on! The faster you tell her the faster we can go play.”

Lexa rolled her eyes and looked to the waiting woman behind the counter, “Medium.” Looking back to her date, “You’re so dead.”

“Bring it.” Clarke smirked as she sashayed away once Lexa was given her own suit.

“Oh, it’s on!” Lexa scrambled to catch up to the blonde as she was lead through a door that opened up to a huge indoor racetrack.

Green eyes widened at the large space they’d walked into. From the outside, the building didn’t look that big, but it was apparent that the back extended further out than expected to accommodate this massive track that included a pit stop and rest area. She even noticed that by the pit stop, there was an area set off to the side for fixing up the karts. 

Clarke let her take it all in, and then nudged her over to a small area before the track that held small lockers for their personal items. They slipped their suits over their street clothes and put their phones and anything in their pockets in a shared locker and closed it up. 

Harper reappeared and showed them to their karts, pointing out how to buckle in safely and the usage of the pedals and buttons. Helmets were placed on their heads and after a round of teasing, the two got comfortable behind the wheel and pulled up to the others lined up for the next race set to start within minutes.

Final instructions given to all racers, Harper stepped off the track and gave the signal to a guy sitting in a box who started messing with switches. Music blared louder as engines roared to life and as the lights ahead of them flashed their way down from red to yellow and then finally green, they all took off. 

Lexa found herself laughing and enjoying herself quite a bit as she targeted Clarke in the race and made a run to pass the blonde. Back and forth they went, cutting in front of the other as they ran around the track at speeds as high as 45 miles per hour. 

The race was certainly on as the two found themselves fighting for position in the top five karts with the other three drivers giving them a run for their money. The race was for thirty laps and they were halfway in with Clarke gaining ground on the second place driver as Lexa followed closely on her tail. 

Lexa grinned evilly as she watched the second place driver stall in front of Clarke, moving in front of her every time the blonde would try to get around. Using the distraction to her advantage, when the two karts went left Lexa swung right and hit the pedal shooting forward and around the two putting her in second place. 

She laughed maniacally as she chased after the first place driver, taking note of how many laps she had left and formulating a plan to try to take home the gold. Even if it was for fun, she was a competitive person and of course having a certain blonde date to impress certainly gave her more incentive to push harder. 

Lap twenty-five and she had made it right up to his tail. Seeing a pattern in his driving after another lap, she decided to back off slightly. She feigned going on the outside of the upcoming turn to pass him, and as he adjusted his kart to block her, she used her forward momentum instead to whip down on the inside and smoothly bypass him and take the lead with two more laps to go. 

Keeping an eye out for the guy she’d just passed; she was surprised to see Clarke had used the same maneuver she’d just done to pass him by as well. She shook her head and laughed as she let up slightly on their final lap, allowing Clarke to get on her tail but not allowing her around. She chuckled as the blonde attempted a final time to pass her, but she ran out of track as they crossed the finish line, Lexa holding claim to first with Clarke at a close second. 

“So not fair!” Clarke exclaimed as she pulled her helmet off once they had parked their karts where they were instructed to. 

Lexa flashed her a cocky grin after removing her own helmet, “Nice try, but I got you fair and square!” She glanced ahead of them as Harper started helping some new drivers get ready for a new race, “Want to go again?”

“Hell yeah! I gotta put you in your place!” Clarke laughed as she placed her helmet back on her head and revved her engine, earning her a glare from Harper.

“You can try, Princess!” Lexa chuckled as she too put her helmet back on and prepared for another go around. 

If asked later, the brunette would whole heartedly deny taking it easy on the blonde as the following race they finished in second and third place. 

“I can’t believe O hasn’t told you that story!” Clarke laughed as they made their way to her car still in the parking lot outside of the park. 

Night had fallen quickly and after their fun in the go karts, they had found a small pizza place still open for a couple slices. They’d talked amiably about typical first date things; getting to know one another as much as possible while doing everything they could to avoid the end of their evening.

“I can’t say she ever did.” Lexa smiled as Clarke sighed and leaned against her car door, “I had a great time with you tonight.”

“I did too.” Blue eyes gazed into green as they stood closely together. “I’m glad you showed up.”

“Me too.” Lexa’s eyes flickered to the lips in front of her. She bit the corner of her lip as she looked back into Clarke’s cerulean gaze. 

“God, it’s hard to resist that look!” Clarke whispered breathily as she wrapped her good hand behind Lexa’s neck and they gravitated towards each other.

Their lips slid perfectly together as Lexa pulled Clarke impossibly closer until they were completely flush against each other. Her arms wrapped around the blonde to the swell of her perfectly round jean clad butt where they firmly held. The soft kiss quickly turned heated as the brunette slid her tongue over the lips on hers seeking permission for entry.

Clarke’s lips parted and both moaned as the taste of the other seemed to fuel the intense inferno that was slowly building within each of them. Feeling the electric heat shoot straight to her core, Lexa pulled back taking the lower lip in between her teeth and gently nipping at it to gain her dates attention. 

It did the trick as eyelids flew open and dilated pupils filled with want looked back at her. She knew her own portrayed the same expression and both smiled at the same time as Lexa brought their foreheads together. Both chests heaved as they tried to regain their breath and calm their racing hearts.

“Wow!” Clarke sighed as she slid her fingers down to the brunette’s shoulder. 

“You could say that again.” Lexa tucked a strand of blonde hair behind Clarke’s ear and kissed her lips one more time. “I should get going.”

“Right.” They smiled again as neither made to remove themselves from the warmth of the other body against them.

“Reshop, Princess.” Lexa whispered as she kissed her gently one more time, before removing herself from the embrace. She turned and walked in the direction she had parked the jeep, which also happened to be on the other side of the park. Try as she might, she could not remove the smile upon her face and for once, she was content in allowing the failure. 

Once home, she fell onto her couch and sighed happily. Turning the TV on, she flipped through channels, not really focusing on what was going on as she did so as her mind began processing everything that had occurred that evening. 

She had expected a typical date scenario when she’d left her work earlier that evening. Thinking they’d end up at some restaurant and a movie, but Clarke surprised her with the indoor kart racing and she had to admit she’d had a blast. She couldn’t get the image of Clarke’s smile or the sound of her laughter out of her head.

Lexa was pleasantly surprised to discover her date was a massage therapist by trade who also dabbled in a touch of art, occasionally commissioning a piece or two for a client every so often. With her hand in the cast however, she couldn’t use it to do either and it was going to set her back a bit.

Her thoughts were interrupted as her phone sounded and she pulled it from her pocket. A smile formed again, seeing who it was from and opened it.

Prisa (11:32pm): How do you expect me to sleep tonight?

Lexa chuckled and started her own response, deleted it and then rewrote something else. 

(11:33pm): Preferably in your bed with your eyes closed.  
Prisa (11:33pm): Ha! You got jokes! When can I see you again?  
(11:34pm): Miss me already, Princess?  
Prisa (11:35pm): As if, Wookie

Lexa laughed out loud reading the nickname she’d heard many female Marines be referred to as during her military career. Clarke was a fast learner, Lexa had to give her that. 

(11:37pm): Someone’s been using Google, hasn’t she?  
Prisa (11:37pm): My lips are sealed!  
(11:38pm): Hopefully not around me ;)  
Prisa (11:39pm): You’re avoiding the question.  
(11:39pm): Guess you’ll have to wait and see, huh?

Lexa turned off the forgotten TV and made her way to her room to ready herself for bed. She knew sleep was awhile away from her but it wouldn’t hurt to settle and get herself comfortable when there wasn’t anything more she wanted to do than talk to Clarke and relax. 

Prisa (11:45pm): Meet me at the Café off Main at 12 tomorrow.  
(11:45pm): And if I have plans?  
Prisa (11:46pm): I wasn’t asking, Wookie. ;) Night  
(11:47pm): Lol Reshop, Princess ;)

She put her phone on the charger for the night and looked up at the ceiling. After knowing the woman for such a short period of time, oddly enough, she wasn’t at all put off by the assertiveness by the blonde. She would go to the Café tomorrow because she wanted to. She smiled as she thought back to the night before when she’d just known that day would be interesting.


	9. Chapter 9

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Her hand shot out from beneath her pillow and swiped at the screen of her cell phone to silence the offending noise. When it refused to shut off, Clarke groaned and raised her head to look at the object with a death glare. A puzzle showed on the screen and she growled in frustration, “RAVENNNN!!! ”

Laughter rang from outside her bedroom door as she sat up to grab her phone and remove it off its charger. The alarm continued to sound until she slid her fingers over the screen working the puzzle. It fell silent once completed and she sighed with relief. Leave it to her roommate to find new ways to get her out of bed. 

Hearing the water running in the spare bathroom, she jumped out of bed and made her way to the kitchen. Grabbing what she needed, Clarke slipped into the bathroom where she covered her mouth to keep from laughing at the brunette’s tone deaf singing. She then reached over and flushed the toilet.

“HEY!” 

As soon as the curtain was drawn back just enough, Clarke let loose the cup of flour in her hand. She dropped it as she doubled over in laughter and scrambled out of the room a second later, leaving the shocked flour covered face of Raven to stare after her.

“So, we’re back to that again, Griffin?”

“Serves you right for messing with my alarm!” Clarke cackled as she poured herself a cup of coffee in the kitchen. She grabbed her phone from her room and a smile spread across her face at the text she’d received from Lexa.

Wookie (8:30am): Good morning, Princess.

A sigh escaped the blonde’s lips as she leaned against the counter. It had been two weeks since their first date at Fast Lanes and Clarke knew she was absolutely taken by the charming Marine. The woman was just simply amazing. The blonde loved her personality and how Lexa expressed herself. When alone together, the brunette would show Clarke a completely different side than if they were around anyone else they knew. 

“You know, I would absolutely love my roommate for finding creative ways to get me out of bed.” Raven stated as she walked into the kitchen, fully dressed and towel drying her hair. “Not throw a cup of flour in her face!”

“I do love you!” Clarke grinned, “But if I don’t keep you on your toes, you’ll get too comfortable. And I’d hate for that to happen.”

There was a knock to the front door and Raven shot her a look before going to answer it, “Saved by the door.” Her eyes widened as the door opened and they were greeted by a vase with a dozen red roses. “Yeah?”

“Delivery for a Clarke Griffin.” The man behind the flowers smiled at them.

“In here.” Raven stepped aside and motioned him in. “Who are they from?”

“Dunno.” He shrugged and tipped his hat to them. “I just deliver the orders that come in. Have a good day!”

Clarke stepped forward and touched the beautiful flowers before leaning over and inhaling their scent. A smile formed and she turned the vase to see if there was anything attached like a card or note.

“Is there a card?” Raven asked after shutting the door behind the flower man. 

“Nope.” She sighed and smelled them again. “They’re gorgeous though.”

“Lucky bitch.” Her roommate grumbled as she poured herself her own cup of coffee. “Bet they’re from your Marine.”

“Maybe.” Clarke looked over her shoulder at the darker woman. “Jealous much?”

Raven chuckled and pulled her phone out of her pocket, “Hey, isn’t your appointment in less than twenty minutes? Shouldn’t you be getting ready?”

“Shit! Yeah!” The blonde hurried to her room to get ready. 

Dressing as quickly as possible, she was shoving her shoes on her feet, grabbing her keys, and flying out the apartment door in no time. She jumped down the stairs two at a time, laughing at herself as she nearly biffed it on the second floor, but somehow managed to catch herself and made it down the rest without incident. 

Driving to the doctor’s office should have taken roughly fifteen minutes give or take traffic. She was hoping to fly through the doors on time and crossing her fingers that she wasn’t late. But of course, when one is in a hurry to get somewhere, it seemed someone else had to play the cruel joke of turning every light red along the way. Thus, making it to where it took her twenty-five minutes to get there and over ten minutes late for her appointment.

“Oh, come on!” Clarke smacked her steering wheel as she waited for the final light to the office to change. “Nobody is even going in that direction!”

A minute later, the light turned green and she hit the gas pedal a little too hard as her back tires spun and smoked before the car jolted forward and whipped her around the corner. She grinned sheepishly when the driver behind her honked their horn as they drove past her and gave her a ‘what the hell is wrong with you’ look. Shrugging, she pulled into the parking lot, parked and leapt out of the driver’s seat, running through the front doors much to the amusement of the front desk personnel.

“Somebody’s late.” The woman behind the desk said in a sing song voice. 

“I know! I know!” Clarke huffed blowing the stray hair that fell in front of her eyes away, “I don’t know why I bother setting appointment times anymore here, I’m always late no matter what I do!”

“Go on back. I’ll let her know you’re here.” Dark eyes twinkled with silent laughter as the woman picked up the phone in front of her.

“Thanks, Callie.” Clarke grinned at her as she started for the door that would lead her to the back rooms.

“Oh, Clarke!” Callie called after her, “Room four is open!”

“Got it.” The blonde waved her acknowledgement and headed towards the room with the labeled number.

The room was decently sized and contained every medical item you’d find in any doctor’s office. She hopped up on the plush examination table, swinging her legs back and forth as her blue eyes looked around the familiar room. Everything was the same as it had been for as long as she could remember. 

“Why is it that I’m not surprised you’re late to your own appointment? I mean, really Clarke? You’d think by now my own daughter would be on time!” Abby huffed as she walked in the door. 

“Raven’s fault.” Clarke smirked at her, “She made me late.”

“And pray tell, what did that child do now?” Abby asked as she opened drawers to retrieve the tools she needed. 

“She messed with my alarm!” The blonde chuckled as her mother gave her a look before turning back to what she had been doing. “I got her back though.”

“Do I even want to know?” Abby pulled the stool up to the table and motioned for her right hand.

Clarke shrugged, her smile constant, “Two words: flour shower.” 

Abby laughed and shook her head, “You two and your pranks. It’s a wonder you’ve both survived this long!”

Blue eyes watched as her mother’s skilled fingers cut away at the cast on her right hand. Once the plaster was removed, she hissed as fresh air hit her hand for the first time in weeks. Looking from one hand to the other she noted the small amount of atrophy. With time, she knew it would get back to a healthier appearance, but even with that knowledge she still hoped it would be sooner rather than later that it would.

“Let’s go get a pretty picture of your hand and see what we’re looking at.” Her mother stood and discarded the cast and pieces that fell off it before opening the door for her.

The x-rays didn’t take long and Clarke was told to take a seat in the room while Abby grabbed the print outs from her office. Not being able to stand the feeling of her chaffed skin any longer, Clarke went to the sink in the room and ran warm water over it. She was patting it dry when her mother returned and she looked up expectantly.

“It looks fantastic, honey.” Abby turned on the light on the wall and pinned the first of the three print outs in her hand. Clarke stood next to her and looked at the bones of her hand as her mother pointed to the area that she’d fractured. “See? All healed. The muscles will take a bit of time to return to how they were but with some therapy it should be fine.”

“When can I return to work?” Clarke looked at the second print out that her mother put up and then the third. “I have clients waiting for my return to continue their therapy.”

“As fast as it healed, I would say within the next week.” Abby took the print outs and placed them in Clarke’s chart. “I’ll contact Marcus’s office about the referral for therapy. I’m sure you will know what to do with your hand, but I still want you to take it easy.”

“Did you forget who you’re talking to?” Clarke rolled her eyes and sighed as she was pushed back to the examination table.

“I’m serious, Clarke.” Abby selected a package of gauze and an ACE roll from her pile of medical supplies on the counter. “You don’t want to overwork your hand too soon.”

“Yes, Mother.” The blonde smiled cheekily as her hand was wrapped. 

“I’ll make you a deal.” Abby glanced up at her daughter to make sure she was paying attention, she was, “Come to the house for dinner at the end of the week, and I’ll take a look at it there. If it checks out, I’ll clear you for work.”

Clarke thought about whether or not she had plans, she wanted to ask Lexa out for another date but if going to her parents for dinner meant getting to go back to work, she’d rather do that. “Ok, just let me know what time to show up.”

“Perfect! I’ll talk to your father and we’ll figure something out and let you know.” Abby cupped her daughters’ cheek as a serious look came across her face, “We miss you, honey, and we haven’t seen you since the funeral.”

“I know.” Clarke lowered her head as tears immediately sprang to life in her blue eyes. “I’ve been trying to keep busy.”

“It’s ok to try to keep busy, just don’t go bottling up your emotions and pushing your family and friends away.” Abby lifted her chin until she was looking into the matching blue eyes of her husband, “You are not alone, Clarke.”

With those five words, those traitorous tears fell and she found herself enveloped in her mother’s arms. She had avoided going home for this very reason. Her resolve broke the minute her mind was plagued with thoughts of Wells and being home meant being surrounded by those memories of him. She wanted to remember but she wanted to forget too. The pain was unbearable every time she thought about him and that he was missing from her life. 

Abby held her as Clarke sobbed into her mother’s chest. Her body shook from the pent up emotions she’d held at bay for as long as she could. But the strong arms around her just held, never loosening and offering that unconditional support a mother gives her child. It wasn’t until the tears had slowed and the smaller blonde pulled away that Clarke realized her mother had been crying too.

“Thank you.” Clarke smiled slightly as Abby wiped at her own tear-stricken cheeks.

“Anytime, honey.” Her mother’s darker watery eyes looked back at her with an equal soft smile, “Now, get out of here. Some of us have work to do!”

Chuckling, her daughter hugged her again, “Let me know what Dad says.”

“Will do.” Abby opened the door to the room, “I’ll text you later, I love you.”

“Love you too, Mom.” Clarke waved and made a bee line to the front door. “Bye, Callie!”

“Goodbye, Clarke.” The woman behind the front counter chuckled as the blonde stepped through the door to the front waiting room. “Kids!”

“She’s your Goddaughter!” Abby laughed as she handed over Clarke’s file.

“Yeah! You gotta love me!” Clarke snickered as her godmother and mothers long time friend just shook her head and threw an eraser at her.

“Get out of here, trouble!” Callie laughed as the eraser sailed back at her and the younger woman waltzed out the door. 

Looking at her phone once she was in her car, Clarke noted the time and smiled at the two messages she’d received while in her appointment:

Wookie (9:17am): I hope you made it to your appointment today.  
Wookie (10:02am): I’m headed into Grounders. Text me when you can.

She was just so damned sweet to Clarke that the blonde was pretty sure she was going to get a cavity somewhere along the line. Her face flushed immediately as her thoughts lead to more heated memories of the few times she and Lexa had wrapped themselves into kissing oblivion. 

Deciding to surprise the woman at her work, Clarke ignored sending out a reply and started up her car to drive the half hour to Lexa’s bar. Getting an idea, she decided to make one detour before heading in that direction.


	10. Chapter 10

Lexa growled as she put down another case to be stocked. To say she was irritated would be an understatement. While the delivery company was actually on time that day, they’d messed up and fulfilled only part of what she’d ordered and gave her shit she didn’t. She had to accept the order otherwise she’d have nothing to provide her patrons and as it was, she’d have to discount the shitty beer just to get it out. 

Lincoln shot his cousin a sympathetic look as he brought in the dolly with the last of what was brought to them and stacked it next to the one Lexa was leaning against. “You know, we’re going to have to do something about this. It’s getting out of hand.”

“I know.” Lexa walked back to the back door where the driver stood with a clipboard. “I better receive a call from your boss later. He won’t like me very much if I have to call.”

“Yes, of course!” The man took back the clipboard that she had signed and rushed to the cab of the delivery truck. 

She shut the back door harder than she probably should have but she didn’t care at all in the moment and made her way inside. Pulling her phone out and checking to see if a certain blue eyed woman had replied to her yet and sighed when she didn’t have anything. Putting the device back in her pocket she grabbed a case of local draft beer bottles and pushed her way through the door leading to the front of the bar. She wasn’t having a good day.

Lincoln stood over at the sound booth with Echo going over music selections most likely, so she continued behind the counter where she busied herself stocking. Case unloaded, Lexa grabbed the empty box and took it into the back to the pile by the back door, continuing this process a few more times with other cases until the front was full.

Seeing the stack of boxes needing to be crushed, she worked her way through them as her mind began to wonder to more pleasant thoughts. Her time with Clarke the last couple of weeks, even though it had been only a few chances of meeting up for coffee or food, it had been the most fun she’d had in a long time. The blonde had somehow managed to break through her defenses, seeing right through her, and bringing out a different side of Lexa that even surprised herself. 

She was worried however. It had been a couple weeks since Trikru had returned home and she knew that it was only a matter of time that she’d get that call that meant them going out again. These thoughts led her to trying to rebuff the blondes advances in the beginning, but try as she might, she failed miserably and continued seeing the woman. 

Caught up in her inner ramblings, she failed to hear Lincoln call out and tell someone up front, “She’s back there.”

As she threw another flattened box into the pile she’d made, her back to the door leading out to the bar, she felt another presence behind her. A split second later, she smelled the familiar scent of vanilla and cinnamon just before she felt the woman’s body jump on her back, arms wrapping around her neck. 

“Miss me?” Clarke breathed into her ear as she held on tight.

“You’re lucky.” Lexa could feel the corners of her mouth tugging to smile despite her effort into not doing so. “Had you been someone else, you’d be on your back right now.”

“So, you’re saying you don’t want to put me on my back?” The blonde grinned cheekily as Lexa maneuvered her to her front, while still keeping the blonde’s legs wrapped around her torso.

And that question broke the Marine. Damn it all if the blonde was just too cute for her own good. Her lips curled and she shook her head chuckling, “You’re just too much.”

“Oh, you know? I try.” Clarke shrugged as she brought her lips to the brunette’s.

Feeling those soft lips against hers, Lexa moved to press the woman against the wall for support as even with her well toned legs, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to keep her up for much longer. The woman had the kind of effect on her that would turn her to a puddle of squishy Lexa, much to the Marine’s chagrin. 

She felt Clarkes groan rumble against her lips and took the opportunity to nip ever so lightly on her lower lip. The blonde’s arms tightened more around her neck bringing the two even more together into a much deeper kiss.

Lexa curled her fingers into blonde locks as her body pressed Clarke harder against the wall. The other hand tentatively explored further, sliding underneath the loose shirt the blonde wore, her nails raking over the taut flesh of her stomach. She felt the tongue against her lips and couldn’t suppress the moan that seemed to come straight from her very core. 

Granting permission, Lexa parted her lips and met the eager tongue seeking hers part way, smiling as her hand beneath the shirt slid up Clarke’s abdomen and cupped the woman’s breast, lightly squeezing and making the blonde squirm against her. 

“Hey, Cuz-oh shit! Sorry!” Lincoln’s voice behind them pulled the two apart. 

“Get out!” Lexa growled in annoyance as Clarke buried her face in the brunette’s neck, her face flush with embarrassment more than arousal. 

Green eyes glared at her cousin who back pedaled into the main room and then softened as her attention was brought back to the woman in her arms as she felt the blonde’s body shaking. Immediately concerned, she removed her hand that remained comfortably under the shirt and started rubbing her back.

“Clarke?”

Relief flooded her veins as Clarke pulled her face away to meet hers and the blonde was giggling. “We totally just got caught making out like a bunch of teenagers.”

Lexa smiled and kissed the enticing lips briefly, “I’ve caught him doing worse things.”

“Oh, EW!” Clarke dropped her legs and pushed the Marine back playfully, “I so don’t want to know what him and Octavia do together.”

The brunette chuckled, “How’d your appointment go?”

“See for yourself.” Clarke raised her right hand and green eyes widened at the lack of a cast.

“It’s off?” Lexa took the hand within her own and gently brushed the knuckles. Anytime they’d been together since the cast was on, she made a habit of doing so. 

“Yup! I just have to do a bit of therapy and it should be good as new!” Blue eyes looked at her twinkling with excitement. “Oh, food!”

“Food?” Confused at the sudden change of subject, Lexa’s eyebrows furrowed, her head tilting.

“I brought food. I hope you’re hungry.” Clarke tugged on the hand holding her wrapped one and they made their way to the front. 

“You didn’t have to.” Lexa shook her head as she saw the bags on a table near the bar counter. Her stomach growled softly at the delicious smells and was quick to cave, “What did you bring?”

“That’s my girl.” Clarke started pulling out the containers and opening them as she went.

The brunette took a seat as the Chinese food was laid out in front of her and accepted the chopsticks almost too greedily. Shooting a teasing glare at the blonde who snickered at her, she grabbed the container with kung pao chicken and dug in. 

“You’re spoiling her, you know?” Lincoln said as he came down the stairs from the office. “Careful cousin, you may lose your figure eating like that.”

Lexa glared at him and finished the bite she chewed, “Not gonna happen, Pudgy.”

“He’s just jealous that his girlfriend doesn’t bring him food.” Clarke smirked as she placed her hand on Lexa’s thigh. “And for what it’s worth, I like your figure any way I can have it.”

“Gross!” Octavia’s voice carried from the front door as she walked in at that moment. 

“Ha! You spoke too soon, Blondie!” Lincoln taunted seeing the food bags in her hands.

Lexa shot him a look as she continued eating; ignoring the smiling brunette who dragged the table next to theirs closer and the couple joined them to eat their own meal. The first question out of Octavia’s mouth though, caught her attention and made her freeze mid-bite.

“So, you two are official now, yeah?” The woman popped a fry into her mouth, “I mean, from what I heard, Clarke all but implied it.”

Three pairs of eyes looked to Lexa, specifically blue ones in particular seeking an answer as the two had yet to talk about the very subject of labeling what they had together. Feeling her earlier bubble of rampant thoughts, worry, fear, doubt…Lexa looked deeper into those very open blue eyes. Seeing the acceptance and feeling the thumb on her thigh brush back and forth, she shoved down the negative thoughts and slightly nodded her head. 

“Badass!” Octavia grinned reaching over and high fiving the blonde, “Way to go, Griffindor!”

“I’m right here, O.” Lexa all but growled. The teasing undertone, however, took away any bite she may have attempted at the remark. The pure happiness on the woman’s face beside her just from her simple acknowledgement made it hard to ruin it with being snarky. 

“I know, you’re hard to miss, Heda.” Octavia deadpanned taking a fry and pointing it at her. “Now, to get the required ‘Best Friend’ talk out of the way. You know I will personally beat the shit out of you if anything happens to her right?”

Lexa rolled her eyes, “I will personally hand you the club and you can try.”

“I’m serious! You break her heart and I’ll break your face!” The fry in hand was sent through the air and Lexa caught it. 

“Anymore cliché best friend threats?” Lexa asked as she munched on the fry.

“Uhm…” Octavia thought a moment then smiled, “If you hurt her, I can make your death look like an accident!”

“Seriously, O?” Clarke laughed shaking her head and looked to the chuckling man beside her best friend, “Since we’re on the subject, do you have anything to add?”

“Nope.” Lincoln grinned at her, “I applaud your bravery. Not many have crossed paths with my cousin and survived.”

“Shof op, joka!” Lexa growled reaching over and punching him in the arm. “I was nice about you being with Octavia, don’t be an ass to Clarke.”

“Chil au, Leksa!” Lincoln smirked then looked to the blonde, “Apologies, Blondie.”

“I hate it when you two do that.” Octavia grumbled as the two cousins chuckled. 

“I love it.” Clarke looked to Lexa, “Will you teach me some time?”

Lexa smiled slightly at the hopeful look in those blue eyes and nodded, “Sha, Prisa.”

“Yes, Princess.” The blonde smiled triumphantly as Lexa rolled her eyes.

“You’ll catch on quick.” Octavia laughed, “It still doesn’t stop being annoying though.”

Lexa turned back to her food instead of making the remark that she wanted. Her eyebrows furrowed as she realized she would normally just sass back but now held her tongue. She had been doing that a lot lately she noticed and wondered when she’d started in the first place. One look at the woman next to her and she realized the answer. 

Clarke Griffin was going to be the death of her. 

“Alright, alright, alright already! I’m coming! Geez!” 

Lexa hopped as she pulled on a pair of sweats. She had gone home after spending the afternoon at the bar with Clarke, Octavia and Lincoln, and had planned on a lazy evening in. She was in the middle of changing into more comfortable clothes when the knocking started at her front door and continued relentlessly.

“Must you do that?” She asked as she opened the door and realized who it was.

“It got your attention didn’t it?” Clarke beamed at her as she looked at the brunette’s appearance. “Did I interrupt you?”

Lexa sighed and turned her back to the blonde as she made her way back inside heading for her room to change her work shirt she had yet to take off. “I thought you said you were going home?”

“I changed my mind.”

Hearing the fridge open and close in the kitchen followed by her cupboards, Lexa rolled her eyes as she slipped on a black tank top. It never failed that when they were together, somehow food was involved as the blonde was like a bottomless pit when it came to eating.

“Oh? And what makes you think I’m not busy?” The brunette asked as she made her way down the hall to the living room.

Blue eyes looked at her pointedly from the kitchen as the microwave door shut, “Your casual dress tells me otherwise, Wookie.” She hit a few buttons before grabbing the two cans of Coke she’d taken from the fridge and making her way to the brunette, “I could leave, you know.”

“After you’ve made yourself at home already?” Lexa smirked as she grabbed the offered can. “It’d be rude to kick you out.”

“Good!” Clarke smiled as she stepped closer to the taller woman, “I’d be bored at home if you did.”

“I would hate for that to happen.” Lexa said in a low tone as she leaned down slightly and kissed the inviting lips in front of her. 

“Mmm…no distractions!” Clarke smiled as she pulled away before things got heated, “Tonight we must celebrate!”

“Celebrate?” Lexa chuckled as she looked at the kitchen where she started to hear the popping sound start up in the microwave, “I take it popcorn and a movie?”

“Yes!” Clarke sauntered back into the kitchen and pulled the bag out of the microwave before grabbing a bowl from one of the cupboards.

“It’s scary how you know where everything is in my kitchen.” Lexa shook her head as she made herself comfortable on the couch. 

The statement was in fact true, as the blonde had only been to her house three times before and she could only remember one of those times having the blonde there long enough for her to look around. 

“I don’t acquaint myself with just anyone’s kitchens, if that makes you feel any better.” Clarke plopped down beside the brunette and opened the popcorn bag.

“You still haven’t answered my question.” Lexa growled as the remote was taken from her hand, “Give that back.”

“No.” The blonde grinned and pushed her back as she flipped through to the movie channels. “And I thought we’d celebrate my cast being removed and our coupleship.”

“Coupleship?” This woman really was going to be the death of her.

Blue eyes glanced over to green as she paused mid-channel flip, “That is if you’re still wanting to be together?”

Seeing the slight fear of rejection in the blonde’s eyes, Lexa smiled reassuringly and nodded, “Of course, I wasn’t sure if you were ready yet though.”

Clarke abandoned her movie perusal and took Lexa’s hands within her own. A smile appeared as the brunette grazed her thumb over her knuckles, “Why do you do that?”

“Do what?” Green eyes tracked down to their hands and stopped her thumb movement.

“Don’t. I wasn’t meaning that in a bad way.” Clarke encouraged as she nudged the thumb with her own. “I was just curious.”

Not being able to keep eye contact any longer, Lexa kept her eyes on their hands as she thought about the reasons why she felt the need to touch the injury. There were so many it was almost overwhelming. She had always been horrible at communication, but the more time she spent with the blonde the easier it was becoming.

“It is a reminder, to myself, of what can happen to those around me,” Lexa chanced a look into Clarke’s eyes as she finished, “when I am not able to get there fast enough to help protect them.”

“You barely knew me.” Clarke stated tilting her head slightly, “Why would you want to protect me?”

Lexa laughed softly as she brushed her thumb across the knuckles in front of her again, “I could use some cheesy line that it was by ‘baser instinct’ but I can’t think of anything else to best describe it. I like you, Clarke, and I’m sorry I couldn’t get to you fast enough to keep you from punching him. I would have done it for you in a heartbeat.”

The responding kiss against her lips made Lexa’s lips part in surprise, to which the blonde didn’t hesitate to take advantage of by sliding her tongue within the brunette’s mouth to deepen the kiss further. 

Lexa’s hand found the bowl of popcorn between them to move it just as the blonde moved swiftly to straddle her lap. Her hands found purchase on Clarke’s hips as a bandaged hand slipped behind her neck, the other threading through her hair that hung loose.

Body’s flush against each other, they parted slightly when oxygen was necessary. Lexa brought her hand to Clarke’s cheek and looked into her eyes as they both tried to catch their breath.

“I like you too, Lexa.” Clarke whispered as she smiled back at her. “Now let’s pick a movie!”

The brunette huffed as the body atop her removed itself to cuddle up to her side after grabbing at the remote again. She herself grabbed the popcorn bowl and settled back to see which movie would be the highlight of their evening. She had lost track of exactly how many times she had the same thought go through her head. 

Clarke Griffin was going to be the death of her.


	11. Chapter 11

When Clarke opened her eyes, she was slightly confused. It took a moment to register that she was still in Lexa’s house, in her living room, and on her couch. Well, not so much her couch as she realized that the cushion, she thought was beneath her was in fact an extremely comfortable body. She smiled as she moved her hand that rested over the tanned skin of the Marine’s stomach, envying the dips and curves that appeared in her abs.

“You know it’s not nice to touch an unsuspecting woman as she sleeps.” The husky voice above her head sent shivers down Clarke’s spine. 

“Sorry, not sorry.” Blue eyes tracked up the body beneath her until finally she was looking into half opened green. “We fell asleep.”

“Right you are, Captain.” Lexa teased smiling as she received a pinch in her side, “Hey, it’s not my fault you’ve stated the obvious!”

“Are you always this grumpy when waking up?” Clarke reached over to the coffee table and turned on her phone screen to see that it was just before six in the morning. “Damn! We slept all night.”

“Is that such a bad thing?” Lexa slid her hand to the blonde’s hips and pulled her down on top of her. “Why don’t we go back to sleep? It’s still early and I have a perfectly good king size bed in my room.”

“As enticing as that sounds,” Clarke leaned down and kissed the welcoming lips in front of her. “I really don’t want to rush this.”

“Who said anything about rushing?” Lexa said in between the gentle kisses. “I just said it was a perfectly good bed.”

“Mhmm.” 

“If I wanted to have you, I’m sure I could find ways to persuade you.” 

“Is that so?”

“Yep.”

Blue eyes narrowed in challenge as Clarke moved off the couch and stood up. “Well then, Wookie, go ahead and try me.”

Lexa smirked as she too stood up and brushed her fingers through blonde hair before leaning in and bringing her lips lightly against Clarke’s. Arms wrapped around each other as the kiss deepened, fingers ran through brunette hair as Lexa’s hands found purchase on the hips in front of her. A moan escaped through Clarke’s lips followed by a squeak as she suddenly found herself lifted into the air and placed over a strong shoulder.

“Lexa!” She squealed as they moved towards the hall.

“I need more sleep, woman.” Lexa grinned as they made their way into the room and she unceremoniously dropped the blonde onto the bed. 

“You’re evil.” Clarke grumbled as she glared at the brunette who moved onto the bed beside her.

“Go back to sleep, Clarke.” Lexa mumbled as she shifted one more time under the blanket before shutting her eyes.

Clarke growled lowly before moving closer to the middle of the bed where Lexa lay and made herself comfortable facing the brunette. She closed her eyes as well, but found them opening less than a minute later to look at the beautiful woman in front of her. 

“Going back to sleep requires your eyes to be closed.” Lexa said making the blondes lips turn up.

“And how do you know my eyes are open?” Clarke whispered back.

She was suddenly looking into green eyes that gave her a pointed look. “I can feel them on me even with mine closed.”

“That’s freaky.” Clarke snickered. 

“But I thought you liked my freakiness.” Lexa grinned as she brushed a stray strand of blonde hair out of her face before sliding her fingers against her scalp in a slow back and forth motion.

“I suppose I do.” Blue eyes shut at the gentle massage. “Mmm…don’t stop.”

“Make you a deal.” Lexa whispered as she continued, “You keep them pretty eyes closed, and I’ll keep doing this. If you open them, I stop.”

“Deal.” Clarke mumbled already starting to fall back to sleep.

“If I knew playing with your hair put you to sleep. I would’ve done it sooner.” Lexa chuckled as she continued running her fingers through the blonde locks.

“Mmmm…If you don’t be quiet. I’ll tell everyone you’re really not such a badass like they think you are.” Blue eyes opened and glared at her. “Hey!”

“You broke the deal, Prisa.” Lexa smirked before flipping over.

Clarke whimpered at the loss, but quickly recovered as she moved closer to the woman beside her wrapping her arm around her and spooning her from behind. She nuzzled her nose into the brunette’s hair and sighed, earning her a chuckle from the body she was wrapped around.

It didn’t take long for them both to fall back to sleep. 

“Clarke…Clarke…Clarke!”

Her name being called, and the gentle shaking of her arm woke the blonde. Her eyes opened slightly only to close once more at the bright light coming in from the opened curtains.

“Ugh! Five more minutes.” She groaned.

“I would give you that, but we have guests in my living room.” Lexa chuckled as she shifted out from under the blonde.

“What?” Blue eyes popped open again looking from the Marine to the bedroom door where she could now make out two new voices. “What time is it?”

“Ten-thirty.” Lexa pulled the blanket from her and threw it across the room so she couldn’t get it back without getting up. “Now, up. Apparently, they have plans with you.”

“Ugh!” Clarke groaned again as she forced herself up. She gave Lexa a look as she followed the brunette out after taking her hand. “I was enjoying my beauty sleep.”

“I’m sure you were.” Lexa smiled as they walked down the hall. “Alright, the Princess is up. You two can have at her.”

“What?” Clarke’s gaze fell to her two best friends who immediately tackled her and all three ended up on the floor in a mangled mess of arms and legs. 

“Watch it!” Lexa hissed as she jumped out of the way, barely missing being pulled into the pile with them.

“You didn’t call or text me saying you were gonna shack up here all night!” Raven growled half-heartedly. “I was worried sick!”

“You knew I was coming here!” Clarke grunted as one of their elbows dug into her side. “Ouch! Watch the elbows!”

“You said we were going to have a girl’s day at the springs!” Octavia moved behind the blonde and managed to put her in a head lock. “You’ve wasted precious time we could have been soaking!”

“LEXA!” Clarke laughed as Raven started attacking her sides. Her one known ticklish spot.

“Oh no!” The brunette chuckled. “I’m staying out of this.”

“Ok! Ok! I give! I give!” Clarke laughed until tears streamed down her cheeks. “Mercy!”

“What do you think, O?” Raven asked as they paused a moment.

“What’s the secret password?” Octavia asked loosening her hold slightly on the blonde’s head. 

“Secret password?” Clarke asked confused. She squeaked as the two began their assault again.

“Wrong answer!” Raven laughed as she continued to attack her roommate’s sides.

“I’m surrounded by a bunch of children.” Lexa rolled her eyes as she tried holding back her laughter. “I’ll be in the kitchen whenever you three decide to calm yourselves.”

The roughhousing continued until they bumped into a lamp and if it weren’t for Octavia’s quick reflexes, it would’ve fell and broke. They were righting it and moving the table it sat on back when Lexa grumbled something under her breath as she sat with a cup of coffee on her couch. Clarke dashed into the kitchen to retrieve her own while she listened to her friends in the living room. 

“What are you doing today, Heda?” Octavia asked as she sat beside the brunette. “Want to join us?”

“I’d planned on going into work to get some things done-” Lexa began.

“Oh, come on!” Raven sat on the other side of the woman effectively trapping her between the two. “All work and no play makes for a grumpy Marine.”

“You two have way too much energy for me right now.” Green eyes shut as she sipped at her mug.

“It’ll be fun!” Raven plead.

“And you’ll see Clarke in a bikini.” Octavia wiggled her eyebrows and then laughed as Clarke glared at her when the blonde returned from the kitchen with her own cup. 

“Nobody wants to see that.” The blonde mumbled as she sat on the smaller couch. 

“Hey, where are you going?” Raven asked as Lexa stood up and moved to sit beside Clarke. 

“Make them stop.” Lexa whined as she leaned into the blonde.

“Oh! This is new!” Octavia jumped up laughing as she received a glare from her friend. “What? It’s true!”

“Leave her alone guys.” Clarke grinned as she ran her fingers through Lexa’s hair. “Did we decide on which hot springs we were going to?”

“Skinny Dipper’s is closed, and Red’s Creek was horrible the last time we went.” Raven sighed, “We could go to Thousand Springs.”

“That’s an hour and a half drive, Rae.” Clarke sipped at her coffee. “What about New Meadows?”

“They don’t regulate their temperature.” Octavia chimed in looking at her phone, “Thousand Springs will be our best bet.”

“Ugh! Please say you’ll come.” Blue eyes turned pleadingly to the woman beside her, “Please don’t make me suffer through dealing with them, by myself!”

“I suppose.” Lexa smiled back at Clarke and winked, “I would get to see you in a bikini.”

“See! Eye candy always wins!” Octavia snickered as she jumped up. “I’m gonna go message a few people and see if they want to come.”

“No!” Raven followed her up, attempting to grab at the smaller woman’s phone, “If we have you invite people it’ll be more than just a few!”

“Bitch!” Octavia growled as her phone was taken away. “Give that back!”

“Ass! And no!” Raven laughed as she darted around the couches to get away from her friend.

“Take it outside!” Lexa yelled over the taunting. 

Clarke giggled as she turned to the woman beside her, “You sure you wanna deal with them today?” She nodded in the direction the two women as they bolted out the front door. “It is a lot like having kids around.”

“That’s putting it mildly.” Lexa sighed and then leaned over, kissing the blonde gently, “But if it means more time with you, I’m ok with it.”

“Aww!” Clarke kissed her again and smiled at her, “You’re just a ball of cheese, aren’t you?”

“Shh!” Lexa covered her mouth with her free hand and glared mockingly at her, “I have a reputation to uphold!”

Clarke giggled and licked the hand over her mouth that was quickly retracted, “Serves you right!”

“That was gross.” The brunette wiped her hand on Clarkes chest and smiled at the intake of breath she caused when her hand brushed over her breast.

“Serves you right, you tease.” Clarke stood up and took her empty mug into the kitchen. “I’m going to go check on the children. Do hurry, we mustn’t keep them waiting much longer.”

Lexa rolled her eyes, “Yes, Darling! We mustn’t keep the children waiting!”

Clarke laughed as she walked past the brunette and yipped as a hand smacked her ass. “Hands off you brute!”

“Ain.” The Marine jogged down the hallway to her room before the blonde could ask what she meant. 

“Getting possessive, aren’t you Heda?” Octavia popped up at Clarke’s side who gave her a questioning look. “I told you, you’ll learn fast. ‘Ain’ means ‘mine’ in Trig.”

A huge grin spread across the blonde’s lips as she looked down the hall in the woman’s wake. “Well, she’s not wrong there.”

“You guys are just too cute.” Octavia wrinkled her nose, “Now, let’s go see if Raven has gotten down.”

“Gotten down from where?” Clarke laughed as they wrapped an arm around each other and made for the front door. 

“Oh, you’ll see.” The frisky brunette winked at her laughing. 

It turned out that Octavia chased Raven up into a tree to retrieve her cell phone and the darker woman got stuck having placed her foot in between two branches and getting it wedged tightly. Clarke nearly fell over laughing at the pitiful look her roommate gave her when she asked for help getting loose so she could get down since Octavia was refusing to do so unless she handed over her phone. 

By the time Clarke was able to help her down, Lexa was standing on the porch with her arms crossed trying not to look too amused by their antics. Opting to drive for them, they all piled their bags in the back of the Jeep and hopped in before taking off. 

Clarke grinned cheekily as she placed her hand on the brunette’s thigh while keeping up conversation with the two in the back seats. Three of her favorite people were with her and she knew this would be a fantastic road trip.


	12. Chapter 12

Before getting on the freeway, Lexa made a pit stop at a store to get snacks and drinks for their trip. That in itself caused her blood pressure to spike as both Octavia and Raven grabbed shopping carts and began drag races down the junk food aisle, grabbing bags of chips, pretzels and boxes of crackers and cookies, tossing them in their prospective carts as they went. 

When an employee appeared at one end they slowed to a walk and acted as if nothing was happening as they passed the older woman, before turning the corner and starting down the next aisle over that held the drinks. Both Clarke and Lexa trailed after them, one dragging the other along as they both yelled at them to slow down. It all came to an abrupt stop as the two crashed into each other when trying to make it into the check out before the other. 

“I’m so sorry! They get a little excited when we let them outside.” Clarke smiled apologetically at the guy who was staring at them in the check-out line beside them.

“Yeah! It’s our weekly trip to the store!” Raven giggled playing along as she grinned and jumped up and down. “Oh! Can I have gum? I promise this time I won’t put it in your hair!”

“No gum, Rae!” Octavia smacked the darker woman in the back of the head. “You got us grounded the last time!”

“Girls! Behave or I’m cancelling next week’s trip!” Clarke admonished pulling the two apart and threw another apologetic smile at the man beside them. “Sorry again!”

“No worries.” He mumbled before taking his cart and moving to another check-out a few aisles away putting as much distance between him and the two crazy women as possible.

Lexa covered her eyes and shook her head as the three in front of her giggled as they loaded their goods on the belt to be scanned. “I’m never going to be able to show my face in here again.” She mumbled. 

After paying, the race was on again as the two women took off for the Jeep. Lexa ran after them afraid they were going to crash into it, and good thing too as she managed to pass them and got them to slow down just before they did just that. Glaring, she made them load their goods into the back of the Jeep with their other bags and got in the front seat.

“I warned you, Wookie.” Clarke grinned as she sat beside her in the passenger’s seat. 

“I’m never going anywhere with you three again!” Lexa grumbled as she started the Jeep and waited for the two children to get in after putting their carts away. “Was all that food necessary?”

“Oh yeah!” Octavia grinned as she hopped in, “I sent out a mass text and like twenty people are going to meet us there.”

“Of course you did.” Lexa rolled her eyes before turning to look at the two, “Put your seatbelts on, now!”

“Yes, Mom!” They squeaked as they did just that. 

Lexa tried her damnedest to keep a straight face but when she caught the blonde’s eyes looking at her in amusement, she couldn’t help but to crack a smile and chuckle quietly. She pulled away from the store and headed for the freeway, while Clarke played with the radio to find some music for them to listen to. 

They were forty-five minutes into their trip, singing off key to the overplayed songs on the radio and overall gossiping about life in general when The brunette in the back seat got excited and started hitting the headrest on Lexa’s seat.

“Oh hey! Lexa speed up!” Octavia laughed as she bounced in her seat. “Do you see that Durango?”

“Yeah? What about it?” Lexa asked as she looked ahead of them.

“Dude! Look at the business name!” Octavia pointed to the lettering on the back of the vehicle in question.

“Does that really say ‘Erection’?” Clarke started laughing as she caught sight of the green lettering.

“Ultimate Steel Erection.” Raven read out loud as they caught up to the Durango.

“Someone please take a picture of that.” Lexa chuckled slowing her speed to where she was along side of it. 

“Hey! How ya doin? Nice name!” Raven shouted as she started snapping pictures on her phone. 

Lexa laughed outright as the guy driving it glared and turned to face the road trying to ignore them. The brunette sped up again passing the guy and turned up the music as the song playing was one of her favorites. 

“Open up the champagne, pop! It’s my house, come on, turn it up!” Lexa sang along causing the other three to laugh hysterically as she danced along to the beat.

“I didn’t peg you for a Flo Rida fan!” Raven giggled, “Seriously, Clarke, marry her or I will!”

Green eyes rolled as she glanced briefly at the blonde beside her before continuing her song. “Welcome to my house, Baby take control now, We can’t even slow down, We don’t have to go out. Welcome to my house, Play that music too loud, Show me what you do now, We don’t have go out. Welcome to my house, Welcome to my house!”

The rest of the trip was filled with more off key singing and a lot of laughter, by the time they were close, Clarke looked at the GPS and noted the time, raising an eyebrow to the woman beside her. 

“You realize you knocked twelve minutes off with your speed demon driving?” She asked shaking her head.

“Is that a challenge?” Lexa grinned as she pressed harder on the gas pedal taking the exit onto the highway they needed a little faster than what was necessary.

“NO!” Clarke laughed. “Slow down, woman! I wanna live to breathe another day!”

“Heda never backs down from a challenge.” Octavia chimed in from the back as she threw a chip in her mouth, “You should see her on our missions sometimes. I swear she has no boundaries!”

“Oh, do tell!” Clarke turned in her seat and pulled the hair in her face behind her ear.

“Octavia, remember who you’re talking to.” Lexa warned looking at the woman in the rearview mirror. “No details.”

“Ma’am, yes, ma’am!” Octavia mock saluted and then leaned closer to Clarke and Raven. “So, this one time…”

Lexa sighed as the woman began to talk in a hushed tone that she couldn’t hear over the roaring wind surrounding the Jeep. Whatever it was, the other two passengers were laughing hysterically and kept giving her looks making the brunette driver anxious. When Clarke reached over and grabbed her wallet she’d set in the jockey box, she couldn’t stand it anymore.

“What are you doing?” She asked her eyes flicking back and forth from the blonde to the road.

“I’m looking for your certificate.” Clarke said grinning as she made a show of flipping through the wallet.

“Certificate?” An eyebrow rose as the two in the back seat started giggling.

“Yeah, you must be certifiably crazy to pull that shit O just told us!” Clarke laughed as Lexa made a grab for her wallet and hit her in the head gently with it.

“Not funny.” Lexa growled although the smile upon her face said otherwise.

“It was too, and you know it!” Clarke smirked as she leaned over and kissed the brunette’s cheek. “You’ll forgive me anyway.”

“Ew! No PDA!” Raven slapped the blonde’s shoulder. “I’d like to not vomit on this trip, thank you very much!”

“Oh shut it!” Octavia grinned as she shoved the darker woman, “I think it’s cute! About time Griffindor finds someone she’s happy with!”

“Can we not bring that asshole up today?” Clarke asked rolling her eyes as she looked out the windshield. “Hey, isn’t that Bellamy’s car?”

“Yeah it is!” Octavia started bouncing in her seat again. “Pass him! Pass him!”

“If you don’t settle down, I will stop this car!” Lexa yelled over the woman shouting from the back who immediately settled. “What are you five?”

“Six and a half.” Octavia winked as she started to slightly bounce when the Jeep started gaining on the car in front of them. “Who’s that with him?”

Lexa looked at the back of the four heads in the convertible in front of them and recognized the profile of the front passenger, “That’s Echo. I don’t know who the other guys are.”

“Heda, can we please pass them?!” Octavia shouted.

“Fine!” Lexa growled as she hit the gas and moved the Jeep into the oncoming lane when it was clear.

The three in the Jeep began taunting those in the convertible as they passed, laughing hysterically as Bellamy tried increasing his speed but failed as Lexa’s Jeep proved faster. It wasn’t until Clarke looked forward and yelled, “Oh, shit!” that green eyes returned to what was in front of her.

Lexa grinned as she saw the truck headed right for them and laughed maniacally as the three women in the Jeep started to freak out. Prolonging the wait effectively scaring them, she pulled in front of the convertible that had slowed considerably to allow room for her to get over.

“I hate you!” Clarke smacked her arm and shook her head, “That was so not funny!”

“It was too and you know it!” Lexa sassed reiterating the blonde’s words from moments before. “Chill, Prisa. I’d never do anything to hurt you.”

“You better not!” Clarke glared at her but allowed her hand to be taken by the brunette’s.

Lexa felt a slight pang of guilt in scaring the blonde and tried to convey her unspoken apology by bringing the back of the blonde’s hand to her lips and kissing it gently. She focused on driving, listening to the others as they began chatting again and taunting the others behind them through text message. 

Within another twenty minutes she pulled the Jeep onto a side road that had a huge sign that read ‘THOUSAND SPRINGS --->’. Slowing to the speed limit she followed the winding road and then turned into the make-shift parking lot before the trail head that would take them up to the natural hot springs. 

“You ever been here before?” Clarke asked as she turned her GPS off.

“Can’t say that I have.” Lexa looked at her phone and noted that they were out of cell range. “Should I leave this here, since we’re not in service?”

“Nah, bring it with.” Clarke wiggled her eyebrows. “We have to take pictures!”

Lexa smiled as she hopped out and dashed around the Jeep to open Clarke’s door before the blonde could even get her hand on the handle, “After you, m’lady.”

“Such a charmer.” Clarke smiled as she stepped out and wrapped her arms around the Marine. “Rae’s right, I might just have to keep you!”

“Hey!” Raven shouted from the back of the Jeep where her and Octavia had already started extracting the goodie bags, “I said no PDA!”

“Whoever listens to you?” Clarke taunted as she stole a quick kiss from the brunette before moving to go help her friends. 

“This is gonna be fun.” Lexa groused as the convertible pulled up beside them followed by a van, minutes behind them.

“Never fear! The party is here!” Jasper laughed as he jumped out of the van, followed by Monty, Maya, Harper and Monroe. “Oh, damn it really is a party!”

“Yay, the geek squad is here.” Bellamy taunted as he leaned against his car. “O, how many people are going to be here?”

“Relax, big brother.” Octavia winked as she recognized an SUV that was coming down the road. 

“O, I thought this was going to be a girl’s day out?” Clarke asked huffing a little in annoyance as she saw Lincoln’s SUV as well.

“Yeah, well, plans change.” Octavia shrugged as she jogged to meet her boyfriend as soon as he parked.

“Oh, she’s so dead.” Lexa shook her head taking a deep breath. “You hear me, Blake? I’m going to make you pay for this!”

“We should make you pay for not inviting us, Heda.” Anya yelled back as she stepped out of the SUV and made her way to the Jeep. She stopped when Raven turned around and she smiled at the darker woman, “Hello, Raven.”

“Hi, Anya.” Raven smiled back and continued to move to the cooler that had been set up on Bellamy’s trunk for the drinks.

“C’mon, Wookie.” Clarke tugged on the brunette’s hand as she started for the trailhead after handing her bag to her, “Let’s get a head start and get a good spot before these assholes take them all.”

“They are your friends.” Lexa pointed out and then stopped midstep, “Shouldn’t we help carry things up?”

“I’m crippled.” The blonde waved her ACE bandaged hand and winked, “I get a pass on that one.”

Lexa laughed as she again started to follow Clarke up to the trail, “I suppose there’s enough of them to bring everything up.”

“That’s right!” Clarke laughed as well when they started to get yelled at by the others who began dividing the food and coolers up to bring with them.

The hike up the hill wasn’t too bad. They had passed a few people going down and found out that the springs were relatively empty of anyone else. At the top of the trail, they were met by level ground that had been shapen to accommodate a huge pool of water that was well heated if the steam rising from the service was any indicator. 

“There’s private pools just beyond this one a little further up.” Clarke said smiling at the look of awe upon Lexa’s face. “C’mon, everyone will be up here soon.”

Lexa followed willingly as she shouldered her bag once more. She set hers down beside the blondes as they’d gotten to a spot suitable to her liking and as she stood back up, her eyes caught the bare skin of Clarke’s stomach as the woman removed her shirt to expose a blue bikini with white floral print. 

“Eyes back in your head, Wookie.” Clarke teased seeing the green eyes in front of her dilate after taking in her body.

“You’re wrong.” Lexa husked out as she brought her eyes up to blue.

“About?” Clarke’s eyebrow rose in question.

“You said nobody wants to see you in a bikini.” The brunette smiled slightly as her eyes raked over the body in front of her again, “You’re wrong.”

Clarke blushed and stepped forward kissing her gently in gratitude before turning towards the group who had finally met up with them. She was about to walk over to them when her arm was caught by Lexa’s hand who looked pointedly at the bandage around her hand.

“Shouldn’t you take that off? Here, let me.” The brunette asked sliding her fingers gently over the clasp to unwind it.

“Thank you.” Clarke smiled as she slowly bent her fingers into a fist and back out once released. She smiled as Lexa grazed her thumb over her knuckles before letting go of her hand altogether. 

Green eyes followed her as the blonde joined the group spreading their things out alongside the heated pool. She was hoping to spend time alone with the blonde, but with Octavia inviting all the people who’d shown up, she doubted she’d get much of it.

She would be wrong, of course.

After shedding her own clothes worn over her bikini, she was coaxed into the water by Clarke who’d held her hand and kept by her side. Within the hour, everyone was thoroughly enjoying themselves as they played in the water. There were a few others in the pool, but after another carload of friends showed up to join them, even those people decided it’d be best to vacate the pool and head out. The rest of the group remained oblivious as they either sat in the shallow end or dived into the deeper part of the pool.

Lexa was talked into a game of chicken, climbing up onto Clarke’s shoulders at the blonde’s request, and faced off against Lincoln and Octavia. Many of the others circled them, goading the teams on, trying to distract the two women above the water.

“What makes you think I’ll lose, Blake?” Lexa smirked as she blocked another attempt by the frisky brunette to push her over. 

“Because I never lose!” Octavia laughed as she nearly slipped as she ducked. Lincoln shuffled beneath her to catch her, saving her from toppling over. 

“Bak op, Linkon.” Lexa warned as her cousin stepped forward bringing the two women closer.

“Shof op, Leksa.” Octavia cackled as she attempted another offensive move to topple her superior. 

“Not happening!” Lexa blocked the woman’s arm and managed to maneuver herself slightly to the right, pulling on the arm held within hers and effectively making Octavia fall over.

“Yeah!” Clarke whooped as she reached up with her left hand to high five the woman on her shoulders. 

“We’re next!” Raven hollered as she helped Anya onto her shoulders.

Lexa looked down at Clarke with a questioning look, briefly glancing at the right hand wrapped around her leg. When the blonde nodded, she turned to her other unit team member and moved her hand in a ‘bring it’ motion.

They continued to horseplay, it took a bit longer, but Lexa successfully toppled Anya as well before sliding off Clarke’s shoulders to give the woman a break. She slipped behind her and pulled her to the side of the pool away from the others as she rubbed her shoulders to help alleviate the soreness of holding the brunette up for so long. 

They would stay another hour before everyone was so water-logged from hopping in and out of the heated pool that they no longer wanted to stay in and decided to pack up their things. Lexa helped rewrap Clarke’s hand, receiving another kiss in appreciation, before grabbing both their bags and making their way down to the Jeep.

“Hey, I’m gonna ride back with Lincoln.” Octavia said as they got to the Jeep. “Anya said she’d ride with you guys so I could.”

“No problem.” Lexa said smirking as Raven and Anya made their way to them walking closely together. 

“I’m so teasing her for this.” Clarke snickered as she sat in the passenger’s seat when Lexa opened the door for her.

“As will I.” The brunette walked to the driver’s side and took her own seat as they waited for the other two to join them. “Shall I drop you and Raven off at home?”

“I suppose.” Clarke sighed as she looked over into green eyes. “I had a lot of fun today.”

“Me too.” Lexa took her hand and kissed the back of it before starting up the Jeep. “You two all set?”

“Yes, Heda.” Anya grinned at the knowing look upon her friend’s face. “Drive on!”

Lexa rolled her eyes and proceeded to reverse, honking her horn at the others still piling their things in their vehicles, before taking off. Clarke had turned on music and was curled up in her seat while the two in the back talked quietly enough that only they could hear each other. They were halfway to Arkadia when Clarke jumped and fished her vibrating phone out of her shorts she’d thrown on before leaving. 

“Yeah?” She answered

Green eyes looked over at her a moment to see the blonde’s eyebrows furrow and became slightly concerned when blue eyes met hers and her hand gripped Lexa’s thigh.

“I’ll tell her O. Thanks, bye.” Clarke pulled the phone away and hung up before looking to Lexa. “Octavia said you need to check your voicemail. You, too, Anya.”

“Shit.” Lexa ran her fingers through her hair already knowing what that meant.

“What is it?” Raven asked looking to Anya who had her own phone to her ear. 

Lexa looked back at the dirty blonde-haired woman and received a nod in confirmation that her thoughts were proven to be correct. “It means we’re being sent out on another mission.”


	13. Chapter 13

Lexa looked back at the dirty blonde haired woman and received a nod in confirmation that her thoughts were proven to be correct. “It means we’re being sent out on another mission.”

Clarke’s heart sank as the words registered and echoed within her head for the hundredth time since they were spoken. The rest of the ride back to Arkadia was in complete silence, both Marine’s lost in thought of what they knew was to come, while the other two women sat unsure of what to say or do at the moment. Before they knew it, Lexa was pulling up to their apartment building and parking the Jeep.

“I’m gonna take our stuff up.” Raven offered as she unbuckled and opened her door. She looked to the woman beside her and gave her a pointed look.

“I’ll help you.” Anya too unbuckled and jumped out following the darker woman, grabbing a bag to take up the stairs. 

“Please don’t do that.” Lexa broke the silence between them as she brought her thumb to Clarke’s cheek wiping a tear that the blonde hadn’t realized she had shed. “Let me figure out what’s going on before you start worrying, okay?”

Clarke bit her lip to keep it from trembling, trying to hold herself together. “We just found each other.”

“Clarke…Prisa…” Lexa unbuckled and brought the woman into her arms and held her tightly. “Please don’t talk like that because this isn’t the end for us. I don’t even know the details yet and even so, you shouldn’t worry-”

“But I will.” Clarke pulled back slightly and cupped the brunette’s tanned cheek. “Sorry, I’m being ridiculous. You’re right, I shouldn’t worry…yet.”

“Caring for someone is not being ridiculous.” Lexa smiled and brought her lips to the blondes kissing her tenderly. “Do you want me to call or text you when I find out? I won’t be able to tell you everything, but I can tell you what I can.”

“Whatever works for you.” Clarke sighed and placed her forehead against the brunette’s. “Let me know when you get home?”

“Of course.” Lexa stole another kiss before she sat back and nodded towards the stairs. “Better get going, Prisa.”

“Yes, Wookie.” Clarke winked at her and opened her door before stepping out and walking around the Jeep to Lexa’s side where the brunette’s eyebrow rose as she watched her. “One more, for the road?”

“Only if you promise to get your sexy ass upstairs afterwards.” Lexa grinned as she met the blonde’s lips halfway in an eager kiss.

Clarke wrapped her arms around her as the kiss deepened before pulling away for much needed air. She nuzzled her nose into Lexa’s neck, hugging her as closely as she could in their position.

“Seriously, Heda? You’re so whipped! First, I have to see the flowers, and then I see your PDA.” Anya scoffed as she took the seat Clark had vacated moments ago.

“What are you talking about?” Lexa pulled away from the hug and looked back at her friend. 

“Oh! I forgot to thank you for the roses you sent me.” Clarke smiled at the brunette who only turned her confused look towards the blonde. “You did send me the rose’s, right?”

“Three dozen is a bit of an overkill, don’t you think?” Anya asked.

Clarke looked into confused green eyes, not sure what to make of the reaction. She groaned and covered her eyes when realization hit her. She pressed her forehead to the Lexa’s shoulder, “You haven’t a clue as to what we’re talking about do you?”

“I’m getting the impression that someone is sending you flowers, and that person is not me.” Lexa’s eyes narrowed. 

“If you didn’t send them, then who did?” Clarke thought out loud as her mind tried thinking back to all the possibilities.

Lexa however, had only one person in mind. “Heard from your ex lately?”

“No. Shit.” Clarke sighed lifting her head and looking up at the sky, “Damn it! My day has just gone from bad to fucking worse!”

“Hey!” Lexa took her chin in between her fingers and brought her face down to look at her, “Go inside, toss the flowers, and don’t worry about any of this ok? I’ll text you when I’m home.”

“Ok.” Clarke brought her lips once more to the Marine’s and then slowly stepped back and walked towards the steps to the third floor. She stopped and waved down at the Jeep waiting below before turning and going into her apartment.

“So, more flowers huh?” Raven asked as her roommate joined her. 

“Throw them out.” Clarke looked briefly at the two new rose sets sitting beside the one she had already received.

“And why am I throwing these out?” Raven gave her a questioning look as the blonde sat in her recliner and turned on the TV, pulling up Netflix and flipping through her favorite movies.

“Because Lexa didn’t buy those for me, and I’m pretty sure Finn did.” Clarke glanced at her friend before looking again to the roses, “Better yet, shred them, light them on fire, and piss on the ashes for all I care.”

“Damn!” The darker woman snickered as she went to sit close to her roommate as she sat on the couch. “Ok, who are you and where is Clarke?”

“Not funny.” Blue eyes glared at her before looking back and selecting something. “Today has been shitty.”

“Not all of it.” Raven said leaning over and showing Clarke her photo gallery on her phone. “We had a lot of fun at the springs.”

“Oh! Send me that one!” Clarke smiled at the picture of her and Lexa that popped up. 

“You two are cute together.” Raven commented as she started selecting the options to do just that. “It’s a bummer they’re leaving.”

“Yeah.” Clarke sighed as she pulled her phone out and opened the photo her roommate just sent her. She saved it to her phone and continued to look at it, unable to hide the smile it brought to her lips. “Is it weird that I’ve fallen so quickly for her? I mean, I don’t know.”

“You can’t help who you fall for.” Raven shrugged as she continued to play with her phone.

“Soooo…you and Anya?” Clarke’s eyebrows rose as a knowing grin appeared and she looked at the woman who suddenly became quiet.

“Don’t look too much into it, Griffin.” Raven stood up and started for her room.

“Avoidance won’t help your denial!” Clarke laughed when she was given the finger and her roommate disappeared. 

Pulling her legs up as she reclined back, she put her phone down on her chest and watched the movie she picked, waiting to receive the promised texts or call from Lexa. Her body had other plans as within minutes of her relaxing back, her eyes began to droop and eventually shut.

2 Missed Calls   
5 New Text Messages

Clarke groaned as she looked at her phone and realized she had been asleep for a couple hours. Having been dropped off around five and it was now past nine. Both calls were from Lexa as well as all the new texts to which the blonde opened and read.

Wookie (5:42pm) I’m home.  
Wookie (6:52pm) I just tried calling but you didn’t answer. I talked to by superior…  
Wookie (6:55pm) Clarke, please talk to me.  
Wookie (7:12pm) Let me know when you want to talk.  
Wookie (7:12pm) At least give us a chance to talk about this before you decide.

Clarke looked at her phone in confusion after reading the last text. Decide? What was she supposed to decide? After the third time reading the texts it dawned on her that the brunette probably thought Clarke was going to decide to stop seeing her after realizing that the Marine could get called into service at any point. 

Hitting the options on her phone, she put it up to her ear as it began to ring. As soon as she heard the line be answered she started talking, “Did you ever stop to think that I could have been sleeping? You know I’m pretty sure you were there during our outdoor activities today.”

“I realized that about an hour ago.” Lexa replied, the tone in her voice telling the blonde that she was smiling. “I was just worried you were upset with me.”

“I could never be upset with you over doing your duty to your people.” Clarke sighed, “So what did you find out?”

“Not much more than before. We will leave for Washington D.C to meet up with our superior to get the details of our mission and then leave when they tell us it’s time.” Clarke could hear the frustration in the woman’s voice, “Prisa, I can’t tell you how long I will be gone. Sometime’s these things are a week, other times they last a couple months.”

“Well then we should hope for the best then.” Clarke said again biting her lip to keep it from trembling. “When do you leave?”

“We take a red-eye tomorrow evening.”

“So soon?” Clarke couldn’t help the annoyance in her voice from spilling out. “Sorry, you don’t deserve that.”

“It’s ok. You’re upset and I understand.” Lexa’s tone remained soothing immediately helping the blonde calm. 

“Would it be too much to ask to come over?” Clarke all but whispered, unsure of the response she would receive.

“Only if you promise not to fall apart on me.” 

“I can’t make that promise, Lexa.” Clarke huffed as she got out of the recliner to grab a few things she would need. “I’ll be there soon.”

“Drive carefully.”

“Says the speed demon.” Clarke retorted making the woman laugh, “I saw that it only took you twenty minutes to get home before you text me.”

“I plead the fifth.”

“Bye, Wookie.”

“See you soon, Prisa.”

Clarke ended the call so she could finish putting together an overnight bag. A note on Raven’s door told her that her roommate was out, thankfully so were the flowers. Grabbing her keys, she locked the door behind her and made her way down to her car.

The drive was quick with not much traffic, so before she knew it, she was pulling into Lexa’s driveway and parking beside the Jeep. Octavia’s car was still parked off to the side where it had been left earlier that morning. 

Lexa met her at her car door, having heard her pull up. It was opened and Clarke accepted the hand to step out after shutting everything down. She was immediately pulled into a hug to which she eagerly accepted with fervor. 

“Come on.” Lexa kissed her forehead and took the bag Clarke reached back into the car to grab. “Let’s go inside.”

“Octavia never came to get her car?” Clarke asked as they walked towards the front door.

“She’s spending the night with Lincoln.” Lexa looked to her and shrugged. “Considering the circumstances, I told her not to worry about it.”

“Right.” 

Once inside, Clarke made her way to the kitchen while the brunette took her bag into the bedroom. Rummaging through the fridge and cupboards, she found the ingredients to make dinner and set everything out. Pulling her ponytail up, she washed her hands and got to work.

“What are you doing?” Arms wrapped around her from behind making the blonde smile as Lexa rested her chin on her shoulder.

“I’m making food. What does it look like?” Clarke turned her head to the side and captured the lips so close to hers. “You hungry?”

“Starved.” Lexa smiled and unwrapped herself from around her so she could move about freely. “Need any help?”

“You can cut the veggies while I stir the meat.” 

“On it.”

The two worked in a comfortable silence. Sharing looks every now and again when one caught the other staring. After Lexa had finished cutting the vegetables to add to the sauce, she disappeared for a bit, leaving Clarke to herself. It didn’t take long before everything was ready, and the blonde had two plates filled with the delicious smelling pasta dish.

“Lexa?” Clarke called out as she tried to take hold of both plates, her right hand giving her grief from the overuse that day.

“I got it.” Lexa rushed into the kitchen and smoothly took both plates from the blonde. “Grab us drinks?”

“Sure.” Clarke smiled and she did just that.

A shocked gasp escaped the blonde’s lips as she left the kitchen and discovered the living room in a soft glow of candlelight from the dozen candles placed about it and the TV screen that awaited them. All other lights were off in the usually well-lit room.

“What’s this?” She asked as she looked to the brunette who stood by the coffee table, their plates having been set down already.

“I know you hate cliché date ideas, but I figured since you cooked and all, the least I could do is provide the entertainment.” Lexa took the drinks and placed them down beside the plates. 

“You didn’t have to do this.” Blue eyes shone with unshed tears. The romantic gesture had taken her completely off guard and she couldn’t help herself.

“I didn’t.” Green eyes shone brightly illuminated from the candlelight, “But I wanted to.”

“You’re amazing.” Clarke whispered as their bodies came together and they shared a tender kiss. 

The moment was short lived however, as the monster growl that erupted from the blonde’s stomach sent them into a fit of laughter.

“Someone’s hungry.” The brunette chuckled as they sat beside each other. She picked up the remote and looked to Clarke. “Movie preference?”

“Anything but a rom-com.” 

“I figured you’d say that.” 

After taking a few bites of her food, Clarke finally tore her eyes from her plate and looked up at the screen where they widened and looked to the woman beside her. “Underworld? Seriously?”

“It’s not a rom-com-” Lexa huffed as she picked up the remote to change it.

“No! Don’t!” Clarke snatched the device away from the brunette and she grinned, “I freaking love this movie!”

“Perfect.” A kiss was shared and they both settled back to continue eating their food while watching the movie.

When both plates were practically licked clean, Clarke took them to the kitchen before Lexa could insist and returned to the couch only to giggle when she saw that the brunette had some sauce on her face.

“Saving some for later?” She asked as she sat down beside her.

“Crap.” Lexa wiped at her cheek and failed miserably at it.

“Here, let me.” Clarke brought her thumb up and after removing the sauce, she brought it to her mouth and gently sucked it clean.

Their eyes locked as she did so right before Lexa lunged at her connecting their lips just as Clarke removed her thumb from them. The brunette pressed her back onto the couch, her hands holding firmly to her hips. Clarke wrapped an arm around her waist as the other came up to slide her fingers through the silky hair she tugged loose from its own ponytail.

Shared moans escaped their lips as Lexa’s hand moved from her hip underneath the t-shirt Clarke wore. Clarke slipped her own hand down the muscled body on top of her to pull the woman closer, her hips bucking upwards as she did so when a shot of pleasure rang through to her very core.

“Shit…Prisa…wait.” Lexa husked pulling away trying to catch her breath, removing her hand from their spot under the blonde’s shirt.

Clarke found herself whimpering for the second time that day at the loss of contact. She looked up into green eyes that she was certain mirrored her own blue lust filled ones. “What’s wrong, Lexa?”

The Marine sighed and gently kissed her once more before bringing her fingers up to slide through blonde hair that had come loose. “You said you didn’t want to rush this. I don’t want to ignore that just because I’m-”

Clarke brought her lips to the brunette’s effectively interrupting what she was about to say. She pulled back and looked at her smiling, “I don’t care who you try to be when you’re around others, but you, Alexandria Woods, are the sweetest most charming and considerate woman I’ve ever met.”

Lexa grinned, “As long as you keep it between us, I’ve-”

“Got a reputation to uphold.” Clarke rolled her eyes as she finished the brunette’s sentence. “I got it. I got it.”

“Brat.” 

“Ouch! Hey, no pinching!”

“Don’t be sassy then.”

“Don’t be predictable then.”

And for the second time that day, Clarke found herself lifted over Lexa’s strong shoulder and carried down the hallway to the bedroom. She really should’ve listened to Octavia when she was told that Lexa never turned down a challenge. 

Laughing so hard she couldn’t fight back, she stopped momentarily remembering the candles, “Babe, don’t forget the candles!”

“They’re electric.” Lexa huffed as she dropped the blonde on the bed and jumped on top of her pinning her down. “Was that predictable, Princess?”

“Mmmm…only call me that when others around.” Clarke smiled at her as she caught her breath, “I prefer when you call me ‘Prisa’.”

“As you wish.” Lexa leaned down and kissed her gently before looking back down at her again, “What does her Highness wish for us to do for the remainder of the evening?” At the smirk she received she added, “Besides that.”

“Spoilsport.” Clarke sighed and then pulled down the brunette, so she had to hold her own weight up by her forearms. Feeling the added weight upon her, the blonde sighed in content and nuzzled her nose into the strong neck above her. 

Lexa rolled to her side, still keeping the woman beneath her wrapped in her arms as she lay on her back bringing the blonde up against her side. Clarke adjusted herself so her head rested on Lexa’s shoulder, her arm wrapped around her waist, and leg resting over one of the brunettes.

Clarke’s mind wondered to the unknown. Thinking about how the wonderful woman holding her was about to leave to go somewhere for who knows how long and could be in the line of some dangerous work. The fingers running up and down her arm didn’t help to soothe her racing thoughts and before she could stop it, tears began to fall.

“Sshhh.” Lexa pulled her closer upon hearing the sniffles and kissed her forehead. “It’ll be ok. I will be ok.”

“I just don’t want you to get hurt.” Clarke said quietly. “I always worried about Octavia when she left, but this is different.”

“I know.” Lips pressed against the blonde’s forehead again. “If it helps, it’s not easy for me this time either.”

“Now I know what Lincoln must feel like when he has to watch her go.” Clarke tugged the t-shirt up beneath her slightly so she could graze her fingers over the tanned skin of Lexa’s abdomen. “Tell me what it’s like? I mean, not the details, but like what you feel?”

“Honestly?” Green eyes shut as memories that usually were kept locked away suddenly flooded her senses. “It’s frightening and exhilarating at the same time. To know that I could be sent anywhere in the world for an undisclosed amount of time. Knowing that success depends solely on my skills and that of my unit members alongside me.”

“Sometimes there’s violence, sometimes it’s an easy job that goes a lot smoother. We’ve all had our share of injuries though. Broken bones, cuts, gunshot wounds...” Lexa’s breath caught as fingers found the scar on her side from the last time the brunette had been wounded. “Even though we’re Marine’s we aren’t indestructible. We do fall occasionally.”

“Did it hurt?” Clarke asked brushing her fingers over the scar again to indicate just what she meant.

“Not at first.” Lexa placed her hand over the one exploring her skin, lacing their fingers together, “Almost always it never hurts at first. The adrenaline keeps you from feeling it, but once you come down from it, you feel every last ache and pain.”

“I remember Octavia was gone for a year not too long ago.” Blue eyes tracked to green, “But that was unusual right?”

“That’s actually when I got this.” Lexa brushed their hands over the scar on her side again. “We were ambushed and I got hit, Anya got hit in the leg as well. Indra and Octavia managed to get us out of there and to safety, but I lost a lot of blood. I don’t remember much of what happened, just that it was serious, and I was down for quite some time. The healing took forever because the bullet hit some vital organs. Anya’s was a through and through, so she was lucky.”

“We had to wait until I got better before we could finish the mission and get the hell out of there. Everyone wanted to evac us and send in another team, but I’m stubborn and managed to somehow talk my way into staying.” The brunette chuckled softly, “The girls hated it, but they stuck with me. We’re a team, we’re family, and we don’t leave anyone behind.”

“Well, no heroics if you can help it this time.” Clarke sat up slightly so she can look down at her, “I would very much like to see my girlfriend home in one piece sooner rather than a year from now.”

Lexa smiled up at her and brushed a strand of loose blonde hair behind Clarke’s ear, “And I would very much like to come home to see my girlfriend in one piece sooner rather than a year from now.” 

Both sighed into the gentle kiss that Clarke initiated before laying back into their comfortable positions they were in. Their thoughts were along the same wavelength as they repeated the one word over and over in their minds. 

It was the first time they had verbally called each other more than friend. And both enjoyed the tingle that radiated throughout their bodies that saying the word ‘girlfriend’ caused. No matter what they faced the following day and days to come, they would both remember this night etched permanently in memory.


	14. Chapter 14

Lexa awoke early after only getting a couple hours of sleep. She’d expected even less than what she got as her usual routine before deployment never failed to cause a restless night. This time however, having Clarke with her appeared to have helped some. 

Carefully moving out from under the still sleeping blonde, she smiled as she stood from the bed when Clarke grunted softly and took hold of the pillow she had just left. Her smile broadened when the slumbering woman nuzzled into it and her breathing evened out again, a clear sign she hadn’t woken her completely.

She made her way quietly down the hall, deciding to use the guest bathroom instead of her own that was connected to her room, and made quick to relieve her bladder and splash cool water over her face once they were rinsed. 

The coffee maker was set to start automatically and was running when she made her way into the kitchen after grabbing her phone from the coffee table where it had been left. Glancing at the time, she inwardly groaned at the thought of leaving later that evening. She had nothing but time to kill until then as after every return trip home, her pack was the first thing she put back together so it was ready to go upon the next call out.

Usually, she’d meet with her unit for breakfast and they would go do something afterwards before they’d return to their own families to spend the last couple hours before they’d meet back up at the airport to leave. Deciding to change her routine up a bit, she opened the group chat she always had on her phone with the other three women and wrote out a message before hitting send. 

Heda (4:17am): I’ve decided to do something different today. Enjoy your time with your families, ladies.

She set her phone down to pour herself a cup of the brew that had just finished when her phone lit up before the cup had filled completely.

Okteivia (4:17am): So, we meet at the airport then?

Not surprised at all by the quick response, as the others had the same problems sleeping the night before leaving, she sent a reply of a reminder of the time to meet and made her way to the living room. 

An idea formed in mind as she thought about what she could do with Clarke later and she smiled as she sent her uncle a text. Her phone began buzzing a couple minutes later affirming that he was indeed awake and she answered his call. She spoke in a hushed tone laying out her plan and after he agreed, she hung up and sat back to finish her drink. 

Making use of the time she had until she would wake the sleeping woman in her bed, she cleaned up the aftermath of their evening, putting away the battery drained candles, washing the dishes and putting them away. After she was done, she checked the time and grumbled when it hadn’t even been that long since she’d last checked it. 

Impatient, she went back into the bedroom and grabbed a change of clothes, dressed in her bathroom, and went to kneel on the bed. Clarke looked so peaceful sleeping, she almost felt bad for having to wake her, but decided the more time they had the better and quickly disregarded her apprehension. 

Brushing the blonde lock of hair that had fallen over her eyes behind her ear, Lexa leaned down and kissed her gently on the cheek. She moved her lips to graze her left earlobe before whispering in her ear. “Wakey wakey, Prisa.”

When that didn’t even cause a stir from the blonde, she pulled the blankets down to Clarke’s waist and grinned at the revealed skin that appeared from the nightshirt having slipped up slightly in the woman’s sleep. Her fingers made light traces over Clarke’s shoulder and down her arm and hand. Eventually, they brushed over the warm skin of her stomach, causing the muscles to jerk and spasm. 

“I said wakey wakey, Prisa.” Lexa chuckled as the body beneath her started moving to get away from her fingers. Not relenting, she followed with her hand and kept up the attack to her stomach.

“Stop it! Stop it!” Clarke laughed as she squirmed, tired eyes opening to glare at the brunette. “You’re so not nice! I was sleeping!”

“Yeah, well, I’m bored and we’re wasting valuable time!” Lexa leaned down and pecked the frowning lips below her, “Now, get up, get ready, and let’s go.”

“Seriously?” Clarke rolled her eyes as she noticed that everything in the room was still dark, “The sun hasn’t even come up yet!”

“So?” Lexa patted her on the ass and shifted to stand up, “I have plans that require you to be up and moving within the next fifteen minutes. So, hop to it!”

“Ughhhh! Lexaaaaaaaa!” 

“Clarkeeeeeeee.” 

“It’s too early for this.” Clarke covered her face with a pillow. “Sleeeeeeep!”

“Fine.” Lexa sighed as she made her way to her door, “I guess I’ll find someone else to go with me.”

As she made her way down the hall, Lexa couldn’t contain her laughter when she heard the blonde huff followed by the thump of the pillow being thrown into the hallway wall behind her. She grabbed her Nike’s and slipped them on, tying them before heading out the front door to start the Jeep up. 

Heading back inside, she could hear Clarke rummaging around her room and she smiled as she went into the kitchen to pour the blonde a to-go cup of coffee. She didn’t have to wait long until the haggard looking blonde appeared, and she immediately brought her into a hug before giving her the cup in her hand. 

“You’re lucky you know how to get in my good graces.” Clarke mumbled before taking a sip. “Where are we headed?”

“You’ll see.” Lexa said cryptically. “Let’s go.”

Before heading out, Lexa grabbed two of her sweatshirts and gave one to Clarke. They slipped them on and then went out to the Jeep, climbing in and settling before the vehicle was reversed and started down the road. The radio was on and both sat listening to the morning show hosts chatter away at the most recent trends going on with well known celebrities.

Stealing glances at the quiet blonde beside her, Lexa couldn’t help the small smile that creeped upon her lips at the sight of Clarke wearing her old Marine Corps sweatshirt. The hood had been brought up to fend away the biting wind as the woman rested her head near the open window frame. 

Even with the ‘I just woke up’ look, Lexa couldn’t help but to be reminded of how beautiful Clarke was. The day of the funeral, the blonde had taken her attention from all else the moment she stepped into the room. The brunette was fascinated at first sight and knew she had to somehow reach out to her. She’d asked Octavia her name when they were walking away at the cemetery and easily found her online, along with a few others.

Conversation was sparse between the two as Lexa drove. Their surroundings went from city life to hills, to finally nothing but trees as they rose in elevation. She noticed Clarke had dozed off again after accepting that she wasn’t going to be told where they were going. It didn’t take much longer before she turned onto a private road that took them away from the highway and deeper into the woods. 

“You’re not some crazy axe murderer out to kill me and dispose of my body in the middle of the woods are you?” Clarke’s voice broke her thoughts of the day, causing her to jump slightly before looking to the blonde who appeared completely alert at that moment. The grin upon her lips told the brunette she was jesting. 

“Damn! You figured me out!” Lexa scoffed hitting the steering wheel and sighing, “I guess I have to figure out another way to go about my devious plans!”

“Oh, whatever!” Clarke playfully shoved her and looked about her surroundings. 

The trees started thinning out and Lexa heard the soft gasp from her passenger as they turned a corner and found themselves looking out over a valley where just beyond they could see the tell signs of the sun about to rise. She pulled the Jeep to a stop in the open area set up as a viewpoint and turned the engine off. 

“C’mon.” Lexa nodded towards the railing in front of them before getting out and making her way to the passenger’s side, opening the door and offering her hand. 

“This is beautiful.” 

“Isn’t it though?” 

They walked the few steps to the railing where Lexa helped Clarke to sit upon it and stood behind her, arms wrapped securely around her body aiding in keeping the blonde balanced as they looked out upon the sights before them.

“How’d you find this place?” Clarke asked.

“This road leads down into the valley where my Uncle owns property.” Lexa nodded in the direction below and off to the left of them. “He loathes the city life and deals with it as little as possible. He’s a true blooded mountain man and prefers his solitude, but he still has an apartment in the city for when he begrudgingly needs it.”

“I would assume then that’s where Lincoln gets his gruffness from.” Clarke smiled as she leaned further into the warm embrace.

Silence fell upon them again as they watched the first rays of light appear in the sky. The colors melted away the darkness of the night with its vibrant colors. Reds, oranges and yellows broke through the light and dark blues, the sun beams more prominent due to the few clouds in the sky still lingering.

Below them in the valley of darkened trees, they could now see the morning mist trying to hang onto the ground for as long as it could. In an open field, Lexa pointed out to Clarke the small figures of a herd of deer casually walking and grazing. The view was truly breathtaking, and the Marine was glad that she had thought of bringing Clarke here to see it. 

After a moment longer, Clarke pulled her cell phone out and turned the camera on to snap a few pictures of the valley and skyline. She reversed it after a sufficient amount was taken, to face them and they both smiled as she took another shot. Looking towards the face beside hers, Lexa leaned closer to kiss the blonde’s cheek only to find lips pressed firmly to hers when Clarke had turned to look at her as well. The soft sound of the blonde’s phone chiming ‘click’ went off as another picture was taken. 

Pulling apart slightly, their foreheads pressed together as their eyes connected. Not a word was spoken as green connected with blue, the ground meeting the sky. They stayed that way, looking between the other and the view, until the sun was halfway visible before Lexa helped Clarke back over the rail and they got back into the Jeep to proceed down the road into the valley. It was another twenty minutes before they were pulling up to a cabin and parking. 

“Are we here to see your uncle?” Clarke asked as she unbuckled and stepped out.

“No, he’s back in Polis.” Lexa smiled as she took the blondes hand and they made their way to the door. “I called him earlier before he left and asked a few favors.”

“What didn’t you do this morning?” A finger poked the brunette in the ribs, “Did you get any sleep, Wookie?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I did.” 

The front door opened after Lexa slid her key in to unlock it, and they were both greeted to the smell of food that made both of their stomachs growl. The cabin was bigger on the inside than it appeared, immediately to their left was a small hallway to a bathroom, to the right it opened up into a big space that was the kitchen, dining room, and what appeared to be a living room.

“Go ahead and take a look around.” Lexa nudged Clarke forward as she made her way to the oven, turning it off its low heated setting and pulled out a foil covered pan. 

“This is awesome.” Blue eyes surveyed the area in wonder as the blonde spun in circles taking it all in. “What is up there?”

Lexa looked up from plating the biscuits and gravy for them to the ceiling above her. “My uncle’s room and the guest bedroom. The balcony is also big enough that he’s set up his own library.”

“This is like a cabin straight out of a movie.” Clarke accepted the plate and they made their way to sit on the couch in the living room. “Thank you.”

“My great grandfather built it. There’s a shack out back that he lived in while building it. Nothing too big, but with each generation the land gets passed down and new additions get added.” Lexa explained before taking a bite of her food. “This will all be Lincoln’s some day.”

“I take it that it only gets passed on to the boys?” Clarke asked as she begun eating as well.

“Old school ways still linger within my family. With my kind of work though, I prefer to stay relatively close to society while still maintaining my solitude.” Lexa motioned with her fork in a circle, “I only come out here to visit and occasionally hide away when I need the quiet time.”

“And to woo romantic interests?” Clarke teased bumping their shoulders together. 

Green eyes softened as a slight smile appeared, “No one has been up here aside from my family.”

“Careful, your reputation is going to take a hit for this.” 

“Only if you tell.” 

“Eh, I like seeing this side of you, so I suppose I’ll keep it to myself.” Clarke looked down at her food as if suddenly realizing it was there, “Did your uncle make this?”

“No, the house elves did.” Lexa smirked at the mock glare she received, “Yes, before he left this morning.”

“I owe him my thanks, this is delicious.” Clarke smiled before taking another bite. 

“Well, eat up. We have other things to do.” Lexa ignored the questioning look shot her way and focused on doing just that with her own plate. 

They made quick work of finishing their food, and after a quick tour of the cabin, they walked hand in hand outside. Lexa showed her or pointed out where everything was nearest to the cabin, from the carport to the building a decent walk away that she explained was set up like a bar and everything in between. 

Clarke asked if they could go look at the building and so they did. It was small but open on two sides. An actual bar counter sat along one of the open sides acting as a half-wall between inside and out. Along the closed walls was kitchen looking counters and cabinets and a sink, fridge and flat top space meant for what Lexa explained as the crock pot area for when some dishes made at parties needed it. 

Blue eyes fell to the pool table in the middle, fully set up with a rack, balls and the cues were mounted on the wall nearby. Lexa chuckled as the look she was given clearly had figured out how the Marine got so good at playing the table game, before they continued looking around. Only a foosball table and a line of bar stools fit within, with ample room around the pool table. Neon signs, photos, and one small flat screen TV adorned the two walls. 

On the other side of the half wall, huge grills and a smoker sat, along with an outdoor ice chest that held the liquor and meats for BBQs. A fire pit sat off to the side not too far from the building along with two really tall poles not too far from that. At the inquisitive look, the brunette explained that a large custom made white screen would be brought out and hoisted up the poles to create one large flat screen that the projector in the building could play anything from TV to movies on. 

“Ready to see the rest?” Lexa asked tugging on the blonde’s hand towards a well beaten path that disappeared through the trees.

“There’s more?” Clarke’s eyes widened. “Seriously, Lexa, is your family loaded and you’re not telling me?”

“Can’t tell you all my secrets, now can I?” She winked and continued to lead the woman down the path until the trees thinned into a clearing where off to their left stood a run down but stable shack and not far from that sat a wooden wall that connected with two others and stretched out over the open area.

“What’s that?” 

“That would be the original Woods homestead that was turned into a gun shack.” Lexa grinned as they walked in that direction. “And that would be our own personal gun range.”

“You’re taking me shooting?” Clarke looked at her skeptically.

“Not just any ordinary ‘shoot the white paper dummy’ shooting.” As they stepped up to the wall, green eyes found what they were looking for and she pointed it out, “I put some thought into it of course.”

“Oh my god!” Clarke laughed as she noticed the black board at the end of the range that had colorful dots on it. “Are those eggs?”

“Paint filled.” Lexa looked to the woman beside her who was shaking her head in disbelief. “You wanna make some art with me?”

“Let me make sure I understand this correctly.” Clarke rubbed her temple, a serious look upon her face, as she looked between the black board and Lexa, “You decided that we’d wake up at an ungodly hour, drive who knows how far because I fell asleep, watch the sunrise before eating in your uncles cabin, and now we’re going to make art by shooting paint-filled eggs stuck to a black board?”

“In the long drawn out version, yes.” Uncertainty flashed behind green eyes at the hesitant reaction the blonde was giving her, making Lexa second guess as to whether or not this was a good idea. Her thoughts were unwarranted though as she was suddenly engulfed in a tight hug. 

“I have no words.” Clarke whispered in her ear before stepping back and smiling at her, “Let’s do this!”

They both laughed at her enthusiasm as they walked the few paces to collect their weapons from within the small building. Lexa showed her the family collection and pulled out two air soft guns and metal BBs. After explaining that these would be powerful enough to break the eggs but not enough to damage the board putting holes in it like actual bullets would, they exited. 

“You ready?” Lexa asked after showing her how to properly load the gun and handle it safely. 

“Take it easy on me will ya?” Clarke batted her eyelashes, “After all, I’m no Marine with years of shooting experience.”

“I’ll try my best.” The brunette grinned as she shot three times, hitting two eggs that exploded with red and purple paint, and purposefully missing the third. “Your turn.”

Clarke smiled at her before taking her stance, which immediately caught the Lexa’s attention. Her shoulders were square, her foot placement held her balance perfectly, and her arms held the rifle in an almost professional way.

“Clar-” Before Lexa could finish calling the woman’s name, the blonde fired her three shots, all three hitting their targets, causing more color to appear on the board. Her jaw dropped as she registered the shots being made and seeing the blue, yellow, and white paint dripping. 

She looked back to the blue eyes looking at her in amusement and trying to keep an innocent look upon her face. Lexa’s eyebrows narrowed as she realized she’d been had, “So, you’ve shot a gun before?”

“National Rifle and Pistol Junior Shooting Champion five years running.” Clarke broke out into laughter as she was pushed by the brunette and winked, “Still want to shoot?”

“Of course!” Lexa was laughing as well and took her stance again, “Loser buys lunch.”

“You’re on!” Clarke agreed as she set up her own shots and they began shooting anew. 

Between the two, they made short work of causing the black board to turn an array of colors as the eggs were broken. Taking a break, Lexa retrieved water from the shack to which Clarke drank from hers as the brunette went to their masterpiece and brought it to her. It was set against the wall in the sunlight to dry before Lexa found the other larger board her uncle had set up for them and took it down range. 

The second round lasted a bit longer as neither wanted to shorten their time together. They made a game of it, pointing out certain eggs the other had to shoot or making the other stand on one leg while shooting, etc… 

The very last egg was a shared shot, Lexa stood behind Clarke her hands on the blondes hips, chin resting upon her shoulder as she spoke in her ear, directing her to position the rifle even though she didn’t need the help. Once the egg burst, they shared a tender kiss, and both went to gather their second masterpiece. 

The art was left to dry. Lexa assured Clarke that she would have Lincoln collect and deliver them to her to within the next couple of days. A playful banter began on their way to the Jeep as to who won their competition. Neither knew nor cared as to who did, but both were enjoying the easiness of the others company. 

Overall, the day was a great distraction from the sad evening that followed, where Lexa hugged and kissed Clarke for the last time until she returned. Leaving the blonde in the care of her cousin and uncle, whom they’d spent time with before going to the airport, as well as a few others who’d shown up to bid their farewells to the Marine’s.

Trikru then turned their backs to their loved ones, heading towards the ticket taker, and disappearing out of sight. All with the similar mindset in hoping that they would be quick to return home.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning. There's nothing outright there but the implications may make some...uncomfortable.
> 
> Also, I claim no medical background knowledge and only slightly remember some comments years ago when this was first posted correcting my error in timing for certain things that occur. If you are reading this story and are medically knowledgeable, squint your eyes and pretend this is a fantasy world where things just...happen. 
> 
> Im being vague on purpose I dont want to give things away. There is only angst. Thanks for reading and please do comment your pleasure/displeasure.
> 
> -RK

Days seemed to drag on for Clarke after the night she left the airport. She went and had dinner with her parents and Marcus as promised that following Friday to which afterwards, she was cleared to go back to work as long as she took it easy. Although on the outside she had a smile on her face, inside she was missing Lexa terribly. 

The Marine had warned her before leaving that their communication would be spotty and often short. So, receiving the few messages she had from her girlfriend did little to improve her mood. She hadn’t realized how accustomed she’d become to talking to her on a daily basis until the days following her deployment and Clarke found herself repeatedly looking at her phone. 

Even though she tried hard to maintain a happy upbeat appearance, she couldn’t convince Raven. Her roommate knew her too well and saw past the façade. When they were home at the same time, they would normally do their own thing. However, Clarke found herself being dragged out of her room to do something with her roommate. If she couldn’t be convinced to leave her room, Raven would just make herself comfortable on her bed, reading from one of her countless engineering magazines or playing on her phone. 

After two and a half weeks of this, the blonde was ambushed by her small group of friends who forced her out of the apartment and to The Ark for drinks and an intervention of sorts. 

“I’m fine guys, really.” Clarke rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time that evening as Maya tried again to get her to talk. “You don’t need to worry.”

“I call bullshit!” Raven pushed another shot glass in front of her, “We know you better than that and you have to stop being Debbie Downer.”

“Agreed.” Jasper chimed in, “You haven’t been to the Café in weeks and I really miss making your stupidly complex but highly enjoyable to make coffee!”

“Ha! I knew your bitching wasn’t real.” Clarke grinned as she shoved him playfully. She took the shot in front of her, grimacing at the burn, before adding, “If I promise to get out more and see you guys, will you lay off the rest of this intervention shit?”

“Oh, come on! I worked really hard on my letter.” Harper pouted pulling out a paper from her pocket. She shrugged and crumpled it into a ball. “Oh well!”

“You guys are too much.” Clarke laughed along with the others at their antics.

“But you love us!” Raven giggled. 

“Them, yes.” Clarke lifted another shot glass that Monty put in front of her as he returned with another round for everyone pointing it at the others, “You? That’s still debatable.” 

“Bitch.” She received a glare from her roommate, and Clarke blew a kiss in her direction before downing her shot as everyone else took theirs. 

The vibrating of her cell phone caught the blonde’s attention and she pulled it from her pocket as the others began to debate on whether to play a game of pool or dance. Opening her text messages she froze when she saw who the text was from and apparently it showed in her face as Raven placed a hand on her shoulder.

“You ok, Griffindor?” 

“Fucking Finns here.” Clarke turned her phone so her roommate could read the message.

DoucheCanoe (10:52pm): You look gorgeous tonight. How’ve you been?

Raven snickered at the contact name and gave Clarke a look, “Seriously? DoucheCanoe?”

“Don’t ask.” Clarke looked at her phone as it vibrated again. “I was pissed and drunk when I changed it. I don’t care to change it now.”

DoucheCanoe (10:53pm): Did you like the flowers?

“Here.” Raven took the phone from the blonde and started flipping through the screens at a rapid pace that in Clarke’s buzzed state of mind, she couldn’t follow. “There you go.”

“What did you do?” Blue eyes looked at the main screen of her phone in confusion.

“See for yourself.” Raven snickered as Clarke opened her messages again and laughed as she read the message. 

(10:53pm): SERVICE ERROR: The subscriber you are trying to reach has blocked your number, Asshole, as she no longer gives a single shit about you. Please enter a valid number of someone else who gives a shit. All further contact attempts will be rerouted to the nearest trash bin. ERROR CODE: 409

“Where do you come up with this stuff?” Jasper shook his head as he had stolen Clarke’s phone and read the message out loud.

“I’m a genius, duh.” Raven shrugged as everyone laughed as well.

Clarke stirred her drink that had been sitting in front of her, casually glancing about the room in search of Finn to pinpoint where he was. She felt uneasy knowing he was there and not wanting to deal with his drama when she was working so hard to relax as it was.

“You know what? Fuck him!” Jasper stood up and put his hand on Clarke’s shoulder, “Let him watch and see that you’re happy and have moved on from his stupid ass.”

“I thought you two were best buds?” Raven asked looking at him with an eyebrow raised.

Jasper shrugged, “I knew her before I knew him. I have her back before I’ll ever have his.”

“Good answer! Now let’s dance!” Harper jumped up as well having decided for everyone what they’d be doing next. After Monty opted to stay behind to make sure the table wasn’t taken over, the rest of the group made their way to the dance floor.

By the third song, Clarke was feeling fantastically carefree. She laughed and danced and all but forgot about her annoying ex who loomed somewhere within the building. She took turns with Maya dancing with Jasper, twirling about and being a complete goofball as the others did too.

Covered in a sheen layer of sweat, Clarke made her way back to the table to finish the rest of her drink and catch her breath. Taking an ice cube from her glass, she ran it over her heated skin in an attempt to cool down faster as her friends returned minutes later. She paid no attention to the conversation around her as her thoughts went back to the one person she wished was beside her at that moment. 

“Hey, wherrya goin?” Raven slurred as the blonde stood up shakily from her stool.

“Restroom.” Clarke replied as she started to make her way towards the stairs to head in that direction.

She was thankful that there wasn’t a line as she made her way through the doors and found an empty stall to relieve her screaming bladder. As she sat there, she held her head in hopes that it would help stop the spinning feeling she had. 

It didn’t. 

Staying still until it slowly abated to where she could manage to stand without feeling like she was going to fall over, she stumbled out of the stall to the sink. Hands washed she flipped the temperature to cold and cupped them underneath the stream. She hissed in relief as the cold water met her flushed skin, repeating it again before reaching for the paper towel disposal and wiping her face dry. 

As she made her way down the hall to return to her friends, her heart began to race and her vision tilted causing her to stumble into the wall where her forearm shot up to brace herself to keep on her feet. Something was very wrong. She knew she’d had a bit to drink but nothing as severe as to cause this kind of reaction.

Shaking her head as her vision blurred, the last thing she remembered was feeling arms wrap around her waist as her legs gave in and her body fell forward. Her world went dark.

Spinning.  
Aching.  
Nausea. 

Clarke hated these three feelings when combined and she let out a long-exasperated groan. She brought her hands up to her face and held her head. Peeking through her fingers she sighed in relief at the familiar surroundings of her room. She groaned again as the pounding in her head seemed to grow more intense and she immediately closed her eyes. 

“Ravennnn!” She winced at the hoarseness of her voice and vibration it caused within her head. She had heard the brunette retching in the hall bathroom and hoped she had heard her call.

A minute later her door opened, and she heard her roommates own groaning before she spoke, “Fuck my life. I drank too much last night.”

“I feel like death.” Clarke grumbled as her bed shifted from the added weight of Raven laying beside her. 

“You and me both.” Raven curled up in a fetal position before nudging her, “Where did you disappear to?”

“Huh?” A blue eye peeked open and looked sideways at her roommate. “What do you mean?”

“You disappeared.” Raven sat tilted her head, “I remember you going to the restroom and then after that, poof, gone. Jas, Maya and I caught an Uber home and when I got here you were in bed.”

Clarke felt her heart begin to race as panic started to creep throughout her body. She shot up and looked down at her roommate, face white and stricken with panic, “Raven, I don’t remember anything from last night.”

The darker woman sat up as well, sobering slightly at her friend’s reaction, “Nothing at all?”

“I remember leaving here with you and going to The Ark, but everything after that is a blur.” Clarke rubbed at her face as her eyebrows furrowed, trying to remember but nothing was coming to her. “I don’t even know how I got home!”

“Shit.” 

Clarke grabbed her phone and opened up her call and text records, nothing out of the ordinary that could tell her what had happened stood out to her. She even vaguely remembered the text history that showed under Finns text history, but nothing else. 

“Fuck.” She muttered putting her phone down and shutting her eyes. 

“I’m gonna go call the others and see if anyone knows what happened.” Raven moved off the bed and disappeared out of the room, minutes later she could be heard talking to someone on her phone in her room. 

Clarke did not like this. Her heart pounded furiously in her chest as she kept trying to remember what had happened the night before, but it was to no avail. She had no recollection of the night and the panic was only getting progressively worse with each passing minute. Her hands began to shake at the possibilities of what could have happened and to say she was freaking out was putting it lightly. 

“Jasper said he and Maya don’t remember seeing you after you left the table.” Raven said as she walked back into the room, “Monty isn’t answering his cell and Harper’s phone is going straight to voicemail.”

“Raven, Finn was there last night.” Clarke held up her phone as she looked at the text history again. “Fuck.”

“He wouldn’t be stupid enough to try something would he?” 

Frightened blue eyes looked up at her roommate at the implication and sudden realization of what may have happened, “I need to call my mom.”

Before Raven could say anything, Clarke had her phone to her ear and waited through the countless rings until it was answered.

“Hey, honey!”

“Mom, are you at your office?” She couldn’t hide the panic in her voice as her hand began to shake. “I need to see you.”

“Yes, I am. Clarke, what’s wrong?” 

“I’ll explain when I get there. Be there soon.” She hung up her phone without another word and looked up at Raven who grabbed the blonde’s keys off her nightstand. 

“My car is still at The Ark, I’ll drive yours to see your mom.”

Their mood was solemn during the drive, neither speaking, the car filled with complete silence as the radio didn’t even play. It didn’t take long before they were parked in front of the office and both walked in where Callie ushered them into an empty room without question. 

Abby entered a few minutes later, concern written over her face sitting beside her daughter on the exam table. She listened patiently as the two younger women explained what had happened and why they were there, taking her daughter into her arms when Clarke broke down into a fit of sobs. She held her, gently rocking her, as she cried it out while Raven could only watch on, a hand placed on her friend’s knee in support.

“I’ll go get what we need and send it over to the lab.” Abby wiped the tears from Clarke’s cheeks, “I’ll call in a few favors and see if we can get it rushed so we’ll know hopefully by the end of today.”

“Mom, what’s going to happen if I was…” Clarke couldn’t even finish her sentence as she covered her mouth, holding back another sob. She was scared and she felt no shame in breaking down in front of her mother. 

“Let’s do the exam and the tests before we head down that road, ok?” Abby hugged her daughter once more before standing, “I’ll be right back.”

“Everything’s gonna be ok.” Raven took the spot the older Griffin vacated and wrapped a supportive arm around Clarke’s shoulders, “Do you want me to stay in the room when she gets back? Or do you want me to leave?”

“Stay.” Clarke took in a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. The possibility that she had been taken advantage of last night and having no memory of it was a pain and a blessing all at the same time. 

Abby was quick as promised with her practice partner, Diana, who would be doing the exam. It would take a bit and with Abby being her mother, she couldn’t be the one to perform it. After everything was said and done however, Diana gave an encouraging statement that left Clarke slightly relieved that nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She left shortly after, making sure her mother promised to give her a call as soon as the results were in from the lab.

They stopped by The Ark so Raven could collect her car, and Clarke drove hers back to their apartment, heading right for her room to hide under the covers. She couldn’t stop the racing thoughts throughout her mind. Her imagination running wild as it conjured an onslaught of images that she had a hard time grasping if they were real or not. 

She turned tried distracting herself with Netflix but couldn’t concentrate long before she was turning it off and pulling up Pandora on her laptop. She went to the corner of her room to her desk and turned on her lamp for extra light, plugging in her soldering iron to heat up, before she went to open her window. 

Pulling out a blank wood plaque, she willed herself to get lost in her work as she started burning it once the iron was hot enough. This seemed to work as her mind quieted under this form of concentration, focusing on the images she began to make. She heard Raven check in on her when she returned from whatever she did after Clarke dropped her off at her car, but she was left alone. After knowing the blonde for so long, the engineer knew better than to mess with her when she was in the middle of a project.

Knocking on her door made her look up some time later, and she froze when she saw her mother’s head peek in before she opened the door all the way and walked in holding a folder in her hand. 

“It’s bad isn’t it?” The blood drained from Clarke’s face and she barely had time to remember the hot iron in her hand before she burned herself. She placed it down as her hands began to shake. Her mother wouldn’t have made a personal visit to her if the results were good. 

“Come here.” Abby sat on the bed and patted the spot next to her. “I pulled some strings and got them back faster than we normally would have.”

“Just rip the band-aid off, Mom.” Clarke pled as she stayed where she was. She rubbed her sweaty palms on her knees as she shut her eyes waiting to hear it.

Abby looked at the door where Raven stood watching and waiting as well. They shared a sad look as Abby opened the folder in her hands and read, “The blood results came back positive for having a significant amount of Ketamine in it. I’m so sorry, Clarke.”

Clarke immediately slumped forward as the words struck her. She had been drugged and she had no memory of what happened. She felt arms catch her as Raven rushed forward just as she fell forward to her knees. Tears streaked down her cheeks and she choked back a sob as she was taken into her friend’s arms. 

“What else?” Raven asked looking to Abby, both had tears in their own eyes. “Was she…?”

Abby flipped the page to the results of the second test she had ordered, a look of relief flashed over her face as she read it before reading it aloud, “It’s negative. Clarke, you weren’t sexually assaulted last night.”

Slight relief flooded Clarke and she buried her face in Raven’s neck as she cried. Her mother was at her side a second later, her hand rubbing her back as her and the engineer waited for the blonde to get everything out of her system and calm. 

When she did, Clarke looked confused at both of them before asking, “What in the hell happened?”


	16. Chapter 16

Somewhere around the world…

“Jok!” Lexa hissed as she dropped onto her cot. 

“You can say that again.” Octavia muttered mimicking her superior’s actions on the cot beside her. “This is gonna take some time isn’t it?”

“I don’t know, Octavia.” Lexa covered her eyes with her arm her mind going in many different directions. 

“That was too close today, Heda.” Indra growled as she crouched down just outside the tent door. “We were almost compromised.”

“I know this!” The brunette’s temper was steadily rising. Her green eyes pierced into the darker woman’s as she seethed, “If you do not drop it, I will pull rank!”

The seriousness of the threat was taken for what it was as Indra huffed in annoyance and swiftly stood and stomped away. Not wanting the Corporal’s wrath turned upon her, Octavia quickly turned her back to the woman beside her and shut her eyes, much to Lexa’s relief.

After leaving Arkadia, they flew to Washington D.C where they had been briefed on their mission. Hardly any details were given to them, just that they were being flown to an undisclosed location within the twenty-four hours of arriving in D.C and to be ready to go at a moment’s notice. They were going to be dropped midflight and would rendezvous with another Unit that would provide them with a little more information. 

Of course, when they did all that, they were told that they would be travelling by foot with the other Unit until they split ways at their final destination. They were to go one way and complete their mission, while the other would do the same with theirs. Details were provided by radio by their Sergeant once they set up camp. It had all been hush hush for the most part on a need to know basis. 

That had been all within the first week. 

Now, it was going on their third week of being out in the field with very little progress in what they were supposed to be doing to get back home and it had been a very bad day, as everything that could go wrong, seemed to do just that as they’d gone into the city center to set up surveillance. 

Anya had gone against orders and had been spotted by two of the men they were tailing. Those men raised an alarm and before Trikru knew it, they were divided as they fled through the backstreets and alleyways to lose the men who started shooting after them. And Lexa really hated to be shot at.

They had agreed beforehand on this plan of action in a worst-case scenario, and once they were clear they’d meet back at their camp that was camouflaged into some woods outside of the small city. Lexa and Octavia made it back first, followed by Indra who before the two brunettes went to their tent, started berating her Corporal about her decision to go into the city in the first place. Anya radioed on their secured line that she was safe, apologized for messing up, and informed them she was looking out for any followers. 

Lexa grunted as she pulled the picture she had printed in D.C from her back pocket. It was of her and Clarke that the blonde had taken at sunrise. Her thumb grazed over their smiling faces and she started to feel calmer. 

“You know, I’m happy for you two.” Octavia’s voice broke through her thoughts of that morning. “You make her really happy.”

“The feeling is mutual.” Lexa looked over at her. “It’s been awhile since I’ve been this happy.”

“Since she who must not be named right?” Octavia sat up enough to lean on her elbow as they talked. 

“Yes, since her.” Eyebrows furrowed as green eyes looked back to the picture within her hand. 

“You never told me what happened with her.” 

“Does it matter?” 

“Not really.”

A few minutes passed with neither one speaking. Octavia was about to lie back when Lexa cleared her throat and spoke. “She couldn’t handle my being away for so long. I showed up at her apartment when we returned from our mission in Paris to surprise her. I found her in bed with someone else.”

“That was two years ago, Lexa.” Octavia looked at her in disbelief, “None of the others did anything for you?”

“Nope.” 

“Why have we never spoken about this before?”

“You never asked, I never told.”

“Well, no shit, Sherlock!” 

Lexa chuckled as the woman beside her pushed her. “Behave or I’ll make you take first watch tonight.”

Octavia shuddered. She had been the last to take watch the night before, and if she took first watch, that meant she would have to remain awake for almost twenty-four hours straight. 

“Heda!” Indra shouted causing Lexa to shove the picture in her hand into her breast pocket and scramble out of the tent. “Radio com is live.”

“Shit.” Lexa grumbled as she went over to the single tent Indra used that also housed their electronics and monitoring devices. She grabbed the headset in front of the laptop and put it on, sitting on Indra’s cot and lifting the device into her lap. “Sir.”

The man on the screen looked none too pleased as a minute later his eyes snapped to look in her direction, “Mind telling me what the happened out there, Corporal?”

“We were spotted-” Lexa began.

“Do I look like an idiot to you?” He interrupted her, face turning a slight shade of red. “The target has been tipped off and is on the move. We have sufficient enough evidence of where they are heading and I need you to get your asses moving! NOW!”

“Sir, yes, Sir!” Lexa said nodding in affirmation.

“Our inside man has made arrangements for transportation.” He proceeded to inform her of the direction they would be heading, and Lexa again nodded in understanding. 

“We will contact you when we get there.” Lexa looked to Octavia and Indra, both who had been standing just out of sight and with a nod they scrambled to start tearing down camp. 

“We cannot afford another screw up, Woods.” His tone had lightened some but the stern look he’d been giving her never wavered. “Get this mission done ASAP or you’ll be having a lot more to worry about than them breathing down your neck.”

“Yes, Sir.” Lexa signed off so as not to waste any more time than what they had already lost. She hadn’t followed protocol allowing him to dismiss the call, but at that moment she didn’t care and would deal with the repercussions later. 

She packed the laptop and headset in its case, ducking out of the tent to allow Indra to pack it as the darker woman had just finished up helping Octavia do the same. Anya had reappeared having been radioed and was waiting with her own things ready to go. Being accustomed to sudden changes made for light work of breaking down camp.

Lexa started cussing in Trigedasleng as she helped pack the remaining supplies. They didn’t really have all that much left to do, so within minutes it was as if they were never there and Trikru began jogging deeper into the woods. A couple miles away, they came across the private road Lexa had been informed of and found their awaiting transportation. 

“No freaking way!” Octavia whooped as the four ATVs came into view. “I love this job.”

“They couldn’t get us a car or truck?” Indra grumbled in annoyance. 

“No time.” Lexa shot Anya a look who was doing everything to avoid looking in the brunette’s direction as they tied down their gear. 

“Well, I love it.” Octavia chimed in as she placed her headgear on before her full faced helmet. 

Lexa rolled her eyes at the woman’s enthusiasm and did the same. When all four of them were set she spoke into the mic in front of her lips, her eyes unseen by the helmet she wore. “Remember to stay close and be on look out! Keep up and do not lose me! If you spot anything out of the ordinary, call out. Understood?”

“Sha, Heda.” Came the response of the other three voices in her ear. 

“Let’s go!” Lexa started her ATV and shot forward followed closely by Octavia and Indra with Anya bringing up the rear. 

Lexa’s heart raced as they sped through backroads, she checked her smartwatch a few times for the GPS coordinates sent to her as they went to be sure to stay on track and to alter their course when they needed to change to a different road. 

They had been riding for over an hour when she called them to a stop. They pulled off to the side of the road they were on, navigating between the sparsely laid out trees and bushes in the new area before forming a circle and turning off the ATVs. From the road they would not be easily spotted.

Helmets and headgear removed, they all looked around alert for anyone or anything that could be following them.

“What’s the plan, Heda?” Indra asked pulling out her water bottle and taking a long pull from it. 

“Ten minutes rest.” Lexa looked back down at her wrist, “Our new contact is waiting for us about twenty miles from here where we will get more information on the target and regroup. I’ll contact Homebase and get further instructions then.”

“They really aren’t giving us much this go around, are they?” Octavia smacked her helmet in annoyance. “I fucking hate these types of missions!”

“Well, if someone would have listened back there, we wouldn’t be in this mess!” Lexa growled glaring at the dirty blonde who rolled her eyes.

“I said I’m sorry!” Anya huffed, “I fucked up, can we move on and get this shit going so we can be done and go home?”

“Why so eager to get home, that’s not like you.” Octavia shot the woman a look, “Usually, you’re all about prolonging the mission.”

“Which she’s done successfully, might I add.” Indra said.

“Shof op.” Lexa intervened before Anya could open her mouth to say anything further. “Finish your rest in silence, or we leave now!”

The three women shut their mouths instantly. After many missions with Lexa, they knew better than to go against her when she gave her Heda-voice. With that voice, she wasn’t playing around and would do exactly as she said. At that moment, none of them wanted to make their break any less than what it already was. 

Lexa turned away from them as she walked to the most private bush she could to relieve her bladder before returning to her ATV. If she were being honest, her muscles were starting to slowly ache from the constant strain the last couple of hours made them endure. Not to mention her ass hurt from straddling the seat on their not so smooth ride.

“Think we’ll be able to contact home when we get to where we are going?” Octavia asked in a quiet voice as the brunette got back on the ATV in front of her. “It’s been a week.”

“I know.” Lexa looked to the other two who were off away from them stretching and looking around the area. “I don’t know, Octavia. I really don’t.”

“Sorry.” Octavia frowned as she fingered the necklace that she wore. “I know we go over this every mission, and I should be better at it by now.”

“Hey.” Lexa sat up slightly and leaned back, placing her hand on Octavia’s shoulder, “I understand now more than before what you’re feeling.”

“She’s got your wrapped around her pinky huh?” Octavia teased lightening the mood.

“Shof of, branwoda.” Lexa grinned unable to deny the accusation.

“Es Heda in hodnes?” Octavia tilted her head questioningly her eyes still shone brightly with amusement. “Foshou?”

Lexa glared at her, “What makes you think I would admit that to you, of all people, if it were true?”

“Because even though Lincoln is your cousin, he is more a brother to you making me somewhat of an unofficial sister-in-law.” Octavia’s grin never faltered, and she leaned forward, “Not to mention, Clarke is like a sister to me and that would again make me an unofficial sister-in-law if you two get serious.”

“Bah!” Lexa shoved the woman and moved back to sit correctly on her ATV. She whistled for the other two to come around and began putting back on her headgear and helmet.

“You can deny it all you want.” Octavia called out as the ATVs started up, “But I know you better than that, Heda!”

Lexa rolled her eyes unseen behind her helmet visor and shook her head as she waited for the woman to put on her headgear and helmet before she responded, “You say a word of this to Clarke, and you’re a dead woman.”

“Sha, Heda.” The voice laughed in her ear just before Lexa motioned for them to move out and took the lead. 

They had made it to their rendezvous without incident and met up with their contact who showed them to the safe house they would be set up in while waiting on surveillance. It was well out of range of their targets location and the brunette was relieved that it meant a smaller chance of being discovered again. So long as everyone did what they were suppose to do this time.

Lexa sighed as she sat in front of the laptop waiting for it to connect. A sudden wave of nervousness hit her, and she wasn’t quite sure why. It’s not like they hadn’t spoken this way before. The feeling in her stomach making her shift in the already uncomfortable chair.

The laptop chimed as it finally connected and she immediately began to type away, logging in with her username and password after submitting the privacy codes meant to secure her video chat. She bit her lip as the laptop began to ring as the call was being routed. 

And then the image of her girlfriend filled the screen in front of her and she suddenly felt so much better.

“Lexa?” Blue eyes looked back at her as a smile graced the Marine’s lips.

“Hello, Prisa, how’s my girl?” Lexa slipped the headset on after connecting it to the laptop in order to hear better. 

“Oh, you know, same old same old.” Clarke smiled at her as she shrugged, “How are you? Is everyone ok?”

“Fine, fine. Everyone’s fine.” Her fingers reached up and touched the laptop screen, wishing more than anything that she was touching the blonde’s face at that moment. “I don’t get much time on here, but I wanted to call you and let you see for yourself that I was ok.”

The look that crossed Clarke’s face made Lexa’s eyebrows furrow. It then occurred to her that even though the screen resolution was a bit hazy, the normally expressive blue eyes she had grown to love were slightly dull and red rimmed.

“Clarke, what’s wrong? You look like you’ve been crying.” Concern weighed on those words and Lexa waited for a response. 

“It’s nothing, don’t worry, ok?” The blonde smiled reassuringly, but it did little to calm the Marine. She wasn’t buying it.

“What happened?” Lexa pushed needing to know and hating that even if she did know, there wasn’t anything she could do with her being on the opposite side of the world. “Tell me, please? I need to know.”

There was a pause, and for a minute Lexa started to worry that her connection had been interrupted as the screen went unmoving. But as she moved to start hitting buttons on the keyboard, she heard the soft sigh in her ear and saw the screen jump to show Clarke looking down.

“You have to promise me you’ll listen to everything first and trust that I am ok.” The blonde stated before explaining what had happened after Lexa begrudgingly agreed. 

Octavia gently knocked on the slightly opened door before pushing it open further. Her eyes tracked to Lexa who sat in a chair, head held within her hands, braced upon the desk she sat at. The laptop showed a blank screen, causing her to wonder what had happened during the call she knew her friend had made back home.

“Heda?” 

“We have to finish this fucking mission.” Lexa’s hoarse voice surprised her, and Octavia was quick to move to the brunette’s side. 

“What happened?” Octavia asked nudging her. 

Lexa took her hands away from her face and wiped at the stray tears that had fallen. “Clarke was drugged while her and Raven were out at the Ark with their friends. She doesn’t know what happened, and the tests only confirm she was drugged but nothing else.”

Octavia’s jaw dropped in disbelief before she shut it and shook her head, “She wasn’t…?”

“No! Thank god.” Lexa sighed and looked back at the screen in front of her, still seeing the look upon Clarke’s face even though it was blank, “She didn’t want to tell me because she knew I’d worry, but did it anyway after I asked and it only gets worse.”

“What else?”

“Finn was there.”

“He didn’t…?” 

“They aren’t sure themselves, but Clarke and Raven seem to think so.”

Octavia’s arm dropped, her hands balling into fists as she growled, “That nomonjoka!”

“My sentiments exactly.” Lexa inwardly seethed her anger boiling anew as she spoke. “We need to finish this so we can get back. I don’t like that joka getting anywhere near Clarke! I’m gonna fucking break him for touching her!”

“Heda!” Octavia placed her hands on the Lexa’s shoulders as she began to shake in rage. “Chil au, Lexa. We need to focus, and you need to set aside your feelings for Clarke so we can get this shit done and go home. You cannot let them interfere with our mission.”

Lexa’s eyebrows narrowed as fire flared from within her green eyes, “I am more than capable of separating feelings from duty!” 

“Then move your ass so I can call Lincoln and once I’m done, we’ll get Anya and Indra and figure out a new plan.” Octavia started shoving her away from the desk, nearly making Lexa fall from the chair. 

“Pushy woman!” Lexa grumbled as she reluctantly gave up her spot and left the room to give Octavia some privacy. 

Once outside the room, she took a deep breath to reign in her emotions because all she wanted to do was hit something. The idea of putting her fist through the wall and possibly breaking her hand didn’t appeal to her when she knew she would need both fully functioning to finish this mission. The alternative of finding the nearest plane back to Arkadia sounded like a wonderful idea, but she knew it was impossible unless they were done and would be allowed to. 

Her eyes caught movement in her peripherals, and she looked up to see Anya leaning against the wall a few feet away from her.

“I’m more than happy to assist in a good ass kicking when we get back.” The knowing look she gave the brunette told her that she’d heard what had been said moments ago. “And I promise not to fuck up so we can do just that.”

That put a slight smile on Lexa’s face, “Good. Maybe focus on that first then, huh?”

“You’re not going to let me live this one down are you?” Anya grumbled huffing in mock annoyance.

“Not a chance.” Lexa shook her head and pushed the woman playfully towards the steps that would take them downstairs, “Let’s go see what Indra is up to.”

Octavia joined them after her call and Trikru began to formulate a new plan. They were notorious for going rogue every now and then, causing many headaches higher up in the ranks of their superiors, but if it meant they’d be boarding a plane to head home faster, they were determined to do so. 

“I don’t understand why they don’t just let us run our missions our own way.” Octavia said once they all had drawn everything out. “Most of the time we end up doing it anyway.”

“Because they have to feel like they have control to make them feel better about themselves.” Indra gave the small brunette a condescending look. “You should know this by now.”

“Either way, within the next hour, we make our move.” Lexa said looking between the other three women. “I’m over this mission and would like to go home, so let’s get to work.”

“Sha, Heda.”


	17. Chapter 17

Clarke felt like she was losing her goddamn mind. 

Everywhere she went, she felt like eyes were watching her. A few times, she could have sworn she was being followed and it was making her paranoid. At first, she thought it was just the side effects of the drug still making its way through her system. But when it continued for over a week after the incident, she knew there was more to it. Her mother had made her promise to go visit her parents, and when she did, she told them about what was going on. She was at a loss for what she should do. 

On her father’s behest, she contacted the police to file a report. They didn’t have much to go on but took her information anyway and informed her to be careful. Clarke was given a card and told if anything else happened, she was to let them know right away which seemed like a no brainer. Talking to the police didn’t help at all and it especially didn’t make her feel more at ease, nor her friends, nor her parents when everyone was updated on what was going on. 

Raven yelled at her when it got back to her that Clarke had told Lexa what had happened. She berated the blonde for not thinking and possibly causing the Marine to do something stupid that could likely get her hurt. It wasn’t a pretty argument, quite possibly the worst either had with one another in their entire friendship. And it resulted in the roommates not talking to each other for three days, before Raven caved when Clarke had a panic attack when running into the apartment barely managing to spit out that she felt like she was being watched again. 

And then the notes started.

They would show up in the oddest of places, never at the same time. The messages were short and proving that her feelings were right, she was being watched. After receiving her ninth note within two days, she had had enough and went to the police station with it to add to the others she had already turned over and demanded they arrest Finn. She just knew he had to be the one behind all of it.

He was the only one who could be, who had motive to do so, but still without concrete evidence that he was tied to the harassment, the police couldn’t do anything. She left fuming after only a promise that they would question Finn again. They had already spoken to him when she first filed the report but of course, he weaseled his way out of suspicion when he pointed out that she had been the one to break his nose. How he had been the one to be the better person by not filing assault charges against her in the first place.

Clarke knew he could be a charmer and had no doubt that he painted a pretty picture for the officers questioning him making it out to be all on her and that he was an innocent victim. What frustrated her the most, was that when she thought about everything going on, it felt like she was part of some drama TV show. She jokingly told Raven at one point she was waiting to hear a director yell ‘CUT!’ which garnered a concerned look and a call from her mother after her roommate informed the doctor of her concerns. 

Her hand healed up just fine, and she was able to take on her workload she had before the injury. Her sessions were a reprieve from the paranoiac state even if only for a short time. She was able to clear her mind and focus on helping her clients and even at some points, was able to meditate and calm herself. The moment she stepped out of her office door though, the feeling of being watched washed over her in full force and brought her paranoia with it. Erasing any sense of normalcy she had gotten back when going in.

It wasn’t until the notes started to become threatening that she was taken seriously.

“This is bullshit!” Raven yelled as she ended the call she’d made to someone she knew at the police station. “And the government wonders why there’s so much crime! They let the criminals run the streets until its too late and someone gets hurt!”

Clarke rubbed her forehead, “I’ve been trying to get that through to them for weeks, now you know how I feel.”

“No more online dating profiles for you.” Raven pointed a finger at her, “There are too many wacko’s out there and having one of them on your tail is enough.”

“Need I remind you of who set it up for me?” 

“Ok, so it wasn’t my most genius idea I’ve had.” 

“Obviously.” 

They sat on the couch staring at the TV that played some kids movie they weren’t paying attention to just had it on for background noise. Clarke felt her eyelids grow heavier; she was exhausted and hadn’t been sleeping well, barely getting a few hours a night. Before she could completely fall asleep, there was a knock on the door that made her eyes fly open and look at Raven. Her heart beginning to race in panic. 

“I’ll get it.” She said patting Clarke’s knee as she stood to answer.

“Delivery for Clarke Griffin.” A guy said handing Raven a small box.

Before he could turn to leave, Raven grabbed him by his shirt collar and forced him back against the wall just outside their door.

“Who gave you this?” She hissed holding up the box.

“I don’t know!” He tried fighting her off but for a petite woman, she had a firm grip on him. “Let go of me!”

“Not until you give me answers!” Raven said shoving him against the wall again. “Who gave you this?”

“Look lady, I’m a delivery boy for a living. I got back from a run yesterday and this box was on my desk with Clarke’s name and address.” He glared back at her, “I don’t know who left it. I swear it!”

“Do you always accept packages this way?” Clarke asked having stepped from the apartment the moment Raven pushed him away from the door.

“No, but the hundred-dollar bill tucked under the box was enough incentive not to ask questions.” The man sniped before looking back to Raven, “Can you let me go now? I’m on the clock.”

“Do you have a business card?” Clarke asked as her roommate looked at her after his request. The man handed one over and she nodded at Raven who released him. 

“Crazy bitches.” He muttered as he scrambled down the stairs as fast as he could to get away.

“What do you think it is?” Raven asked looking at the box still in her hand. “Should we open it before turning it in?”

Clarke took the box and was surprised at its light weight. They walked into their apartment, locking the door behind them as they sat back down where they had been minutes before. The box sat on the coffee table.

“This is getting out of hand.” The blonde mumbled as she stared at it, her eyes burning holes into the cardboard as if she would be able to see through it and know what was inside without actually opening it. “When did my life become this mess?”

“Look, we don’t have to open it. We could turn it in and have the police take care of it.” Raven said leaning forward and picking it up again. 

Clarke’s mind was going on overdrive trying to focus on a solid plan to go with. In one hand she wanted to open it to find out what it was, the other she wanted to turn it in. Clouding both options was the heaviness she felt from being so tired. She rubbed her eyes hoping it would force her to focus. It didn’t.

“I’m going to go lay down for a bit and then I’ll deal with this.” Clarke took the box from her roommate’s hands and started for her room.

“I have to run to work to finish some paperwork the Bossman said I didn’t complete. I’ll lock up when I leave.” Raven followed her stopping at the doorway to her own room, “Try to get some rest. And get rid of whatever is in that box as soon as possible.”

“I will. Text me.” Clarke said giving her a slight smile before she went into her room. 

It didn’t take long after her head hit her pillow before she was fast asleep. Her mind for the first time took mercy on her and she was able to dream about happier things as opposed to the nightmares she had been having as of late. 

The image of green eyes, brunette hair, and that soft playful smile instantly pulled her further into oblivion. 

The constant irritating vibration of her phone going off finally awoke Clarke. Grabbing the offending object, she squinted her eyes to see who had woken her from her slumber. Seeing it was her mother, her brows furrowed, and she answered. “Hello?”

“Clarke! Honey, where are you?” 

The panicked tone of her mother’s voice made the blonde sit up instantly, “I’m at home, why? What’s wrong?”

“I’m coming to get you. There’s been an accident.”

“What? Who?” Clarkes mind raced as she jumped from the bed and found socks to put on. “I was sleeping, what’s going on?”

“It’s Raven, honey. I’m at the hospital now waiting on her to get out of surgery.”

“Surgery?!” Clarke’s voice rose as she stumbled from the room trying to finish pulling her right sock on her foot and head for her shoes. “Don’t worry about me! I’ll be there in like five minutes!”

She jammed her phone into her pocket after disconnecting the call just as she found her shoes by her recliner, shoving them on and darting for the front door. She barely remembered to stop and lock up behind her before she went running down the stairs. The hospital was only a few blocks from her apartment, so she bypassed dealing with traffic and ran as fast as she could in that direction. 

When she finally got through the Emergency Room doors, she was winded. She was barely able to gasp out who she was looking for before the register nurse gave her directions to the second floor where Raven was still in surgery. Her mother met her as she walked through the waiting room doors and pulled her into a hug.

“What happened?” Clarke asked still trying to catch her breath.

“I’m not sure of the details, but I got a call thirty minutes ago from here saying she’d been hurt. Apparently, I’m her secondary emergency contact and when they couldn’t get a hold of you, they called me.” Abby moved to guide them to go sit. “All I do know is that she was hit by a car as she was crossing the parking lot of her work.”

“Reyes?” An older gentleman called causing both Griffin women to look up at him.

“That’s us.” Abby called standing up, Clarke doing the same a second after. 

“Let’s go talk in a consultation room.” He said motioning for them to follow. They didn’t go far, just around the corner where he let them enter before shutting the door behind him. “I’m sure you’ve got a lot of questions and I will do my best to answer them. Raven is doing just fine. She had mostly superficial injuries; however, the damage to her left leg is what warranted her surgery.”

“How bad is it?” Abby asked as she took her daughter’s hand. 

“She took the brunt of the hit in her leg which caused an open fracture.” He opened the file he had in his hand that Clarke didn’t notice before and looked at the papers within. “There were multiple breaks mostly in the medial femoral shaft. The location and severity of it caused us to go into surgery. Our orthopedic surgeon was able to realign everything back into place, but it’s going to be a long road to recovery for her leg to heal and there’s a good possibility of nerve damage. We will know more in time.”

“Thank you.” Abby looked at Clarke, “Do you have any questions, Clarke?”

“When can we see her?” The younger Griffin immediately asked taking her eyes off the back of the file the man held and looking at his face. 

“She should be awake within the next hour or so. We’re trying to keep her sedated as long as possible for her body to adjust.” He smiled sadly at her and closed the file. “I will have one of the nurses inform you of when she’s been moved to a room.”

Clarke tuned out whatever was said between her mother and the doctor after that. Her life was chaos and she didn’t know how much more she could take before she willingly walked herself into the nearest mental institution and had herself locked up. She couldn’t believe everything that was going on. It all seemed too surreal. 

Clarke had tunnel vision as she was led back to the waiting room. She looked at the clock on the wall and shook her head. Raven had gone to work right before one o’clock according to the text she had sent Clarke that said she had left. It was now almost nine o’clock at night and she had slept for almost a complete eight hours.

Within thirty minutes after the consult, Abby and Clarke were led to the third floor where Raven had been taken to spend the night in ICU before she would be moved to a private room somewhere else.

Blue eyes filled with tears as they fell upon the woman lying on the hospital bed with wires connected in various places, her left leg raised by a pulley. Being well covered, the only skin Clarke could see was her face and what she saw wasn’t pretty. Raven’s left eye was blackened and swollen shut, the bruise from her eye seemed to melt into her cheek as it too was darkened. The only other noticeable injury was the minor cut on her lip. 

“Sit with her.” Abby nudged her daughter towards one of the two chairs in the room before nodding towards the door, “I’m gonna go make some phone calls.”

“’kay.” Clarke muttered as she went to her friend’s side and took the still hand. “Hey, Rae.”

It seemed silly but she waited a second, half expecting her witty friend to respond. When she was only met with silence, she took a deep breath and rested her chin on the bed beside their hands. 

“Our lives have gotten really interesting lately, haven’t they?” Clarke asked shaking her head slightly, “I told you, I feel like we’ve suddenly become the stars of our own TV show and if that’s the case, we’re owed big time for the shit we’ve been put through.”

“Don’t worry about a thing, though.” Clarke sniffled and she wiped away the tear making its way down her cheek, “We will figure this out and find out what happened.”

Raven woke during the night, her screaming startled Clarke and Abby who had gotten as comfortable in the guest chairs as they could. A nurse ran in immediately with a syringe that she inserted into the IV and within a minute the injured woman was calm and back into her oblivious state.

She was moved that following morning, set up in a private room on the fifth floor where it was much quieter than the ICU. The few times she woke up after being moved, she would mumble incoherently for a few minutes before her eyes fell shut and she would be out again. Clarke asked if this was normal and was told that everyone reacts differently after surgery and anesthesia.

“You know, I have a new appreciation for the term ‘I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus’.” Raven’s hoarse voice got Clarke’s attention making her move from the window she stood at to her bedside. 

“Hey!” She smiled at the opened eye of her friend. “It’s nice to hear your voice.”

“It’d be even nicer if you’d get me ice.” Raven snipped the corner of her lips lifting slightly at the jest.

“Right! Here you go.” Offering the cup, she kept filled with ice in case her friend woke, she waited until Raven spoke again.

“I’m going to be really fucking glad,” She winced as she attempted to move but stopped, “When his stupid ass is in jail.”

“Him?” Clarke’s eyebrows furrowed and then it hit her, “Finn did this?”

“Bastard sped right towards me.” Raven’s eye started dropping, “Fucking hell.”

“Sshhh, don’t fight your body. If you need to sleep, do it.” 

“Clarke?”

“Yeah?”

“I hurt.” 

Raven’s voice was small causing the blonde’s heart to constrict a bit. She took her hand and squeezed it, “You’re gonna be ok. Mom left for work but should be back here to check on you when she’s off. You know, she’s got to make sure you’re getting the best care and translate the doctor jargon they throw at us.”

“Finn’s a dead man.” Raven mumbled making Clarke chuckled softly. “No, seriously…I know of some Marine’s who are going to rip him limb from limb.”

“Oh, yeah?” Clarke was relieved to hear the humor back in her friend’s voice. “How do you know this?”

“Because Octavia called me when I was leaving work.” Raven opened her eye and looked at Clarke, “They’re coming home.”


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your enthusiasm with all your comments on the last chapter gave me motivation to finish editing/tweaking this next one. I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> Mochof
> 
> -RK

Lexa looked around the empty streets, taking in and meticulously filing away all of her surroundings for later use as she called a halt to their movement. Octavia and Anya stood somewhere behind her, hidden from view. This was a risky plan, it had too many holes in it that she herself was hesitant to follow through with. But if it meant they would be heading home faster; she would agree to anything. 

As it was, planning took longer than expected due to her insistence upon bringing down the unknown factor as much as they possibly could. They had done their research of the area with the help of their local contact. Studying the geography of the land, the routine of its locals, and giving their target time to lower its guard from the mishap Anya caused after being seen. 

When there wasn’t anything else they could directly change, Lexa decided it was time. Which is what brought her and the other two into the city prepared to end this mission and go home. Indra, being the best sniper out of the four, lay on a building down the street of their target, awaiting their arrival and cover their backs when they needed it. 

“Eyes.” Lexa muttered into the mic on her head gear. 

“No change.” Indra’s voice responded. “One guard down the sidewalk from the door. Two entered five minutes ago and haven’t come out. The others who were there from last night never left either.”

“Copy.” Lexa adjusted the strap over her shoulder one final time and raised her M16. “No heroics today, Trikru. We get in, we get out, we go home. Together.”

“Oorah, Heda!” Three voices replied and a second later she signaled for them to continue. 

They moved quickly. 

The man outside the door was taken out swiftly as she rounded the corner. A few paces forward and she was kicking the door in that would lead them to their target. She kept just outside of the door as gunshots rang out from within, ducking as shattered splintered wood was sent towards her when bullets hit the doorframe. 

Lexa heard a single shot ring out from a distance followed by heavy thump somewhere inside. “Mochof, Indra.”

“You’re clear, Heda, be careful.” 

Taking a breath, she peeked around the corner and when no shots were fired at her, slowly crept through the mangled doorframe. A man’s body faced away from her as she scanned the room. She heard more shots being fired from the back and moved quickly out of sight from the back door.

“Octavia. Anya. Report.” She spoke quietly into her mic. Hearing a slew of cussing Trigedasleng, she rolled her eyes, “Octavia, chil au and report!”

“I’m ok!” Octavia’s strangled voice replied.

“She’s the biggest fucking baby, Heda.” Anya’s voice followed, “It’s just a scratch!”

“It still fucking hurts!” Octavia hissed.

Lexa rubbed her eyes in annoyance. “Where were you hit?”

“My arm but I’m ok.” 

“Then get your ass in here!” Lexa had no patience right now and they still needed to clear the building. “Anya, get cozy.”

“Sha, Heda.” 

Lexa kept her eyes trained towards the doorframe that lead towards a back room where Octavia would be appearing. When she saw the hand wave, she lowered her gun as the smaller brunette walked through a second later. 

“One up? One down?” Octavia whispered when she was standing beside Lexa.

“Do you really have to ask?” Green eyes narrowed at her. “I go up, you go down. Isn’t that always the goddamn plan?”

“Maybe we should change it this time?” Octavia smirked winking at her, “Rock, paper, scissors for it?”

“Heda, we have no time for games.” Indra’s voice sounded in both their ears.

“I wasn’t planning on it!” Lexa replied as she moved towards the steps that would lead her to the second floor. 

“You’re so serious all the time!” Octavia called in her ear as she too disappeared back towards the basement stairs she had passed walking in. 

Lexa kept low and against the wall as she crept up the stairs. She unlatched a smoke bomb from her belt and pulled the release, sending it flying up the remaining stairs. Gun shots immediately followed as the hall filled with smoke. She could hear the shots ringing from down below and knew Octavia had her own hands full. 

“Octavia report.” She hissed into her mic as she sent her own bullets back down the hall through the smoke.

“They’re fucking cockroaches! Take out one and two more appears!” Octavia responded out of breath.

Moving up the steps further, Lexa dropped to her stomach, flipping her thermal sensor over her left eye. Bullets continued to fly above her head as she looked down the hall through the smoke and saw the sensor indicate someone standing in a doorway on the left and right of the hall. She responded in kind to their attack, sending her own volley of shots at them. Inwardly sighing in relief as the two bodies soon followed. 

The gun fire didn’t cease, however, as two more replaced the one’s who’d fallen. Just as Octavia had said was happening downstairs. Quickly dispatching those as well, she moved further up the steps waiting for more to appear. 

“Heda there’s a vehicle speeding your way!” Indra warned and Lexa could hear the gun shots in the background as the Marine shot at the vehicle.

“Octavia?” Lexa whispered as she made her way another two steps up. The gun fire had stopped upstairs, and she was being cautious as she went to proceed. 

“Sha, Heda. It’s not down here. I’m heading your way.” Octavia grunted into her mic.

“We got a group out back!” Anya yelled, gun shots firing rapidly in her connection. “Fucking get it now and let’s move!”

“It has to be upstairs. Coming up, so don’t shoot me!”

Lexa glanced behind her for a moment and saw through the small amount of smoke that made its way down the stairs, the dark figure of Octavia as she crept up behind her. Using hand signals, Lexa motioned for the other woman to cover the left side of the hall while she would cover the right and to get moving. 

Both moved in sync, guns raised in position as they made their way down the hall. Stopping at the first door that was on the left, Octavia looked around the corner with her own thermal sensor and motioned the ‘all clear’ to Lexa before they proceeded within. A quick scan of the room and they were headed back out into the hall.

The smoke was beginning to clear and they could make out two more doorways further down. One was on the right, where Lexa had taken out two men, the other was further down on the left, the door closed. Doing the same as the previous room, they made sure the right room was clear before heading towards the last and final one.

“I’ll take door number three, Bob.” Octavia joked quietly as they moved. Lexa shot her a glare to which the smaller brunette only shrugged. 

“I’m getting pushed back out here! Is it done yet?” Anya called in their ears. 

“We found the room, working on it.” Octavia replied as Lexa kicked the door in and ducked out of the way when bullets went flying into the hall hitting the far wall. 

“Son of a bitch!” Lexa yelled shooting back into the room. “I’m fucking over this shit!”

“You and me both!” Octavia darted across the doorway, narrowly missing getting shot again, and started to shoot into the room as well. “I think we need a raise!”

“Good luck with that!” Indra chuckled in their ear. 

When no more shots came from the room, Lexa peeked around the corner to verify they wouldn’t be ambushed. Confirming there wasn’t a threat, they moved in and found what they were looking for.

“The target has been acquired.” Lexa fell to her knees as she popped open the thick black case. “Report.”

“Another group is headed your way. On foot and by vehicle.” Indra replied, “There’s too many for me to take out before they get to you. Two minutes.”

“If you two quit taking your sweet time, I can get you out the back!” Anya yelled through the gun fire going on around her. 

Lexa looked to the woman beside her who nodded. She emptied the case of its contents and handed it to Octavia, shutting the case she dropped it beside the man who had been holding onto it and they made their way for the door. 

Taking no caution this time, they ran down the hall and stairs, making it almost through the doorway downstairs that would lead them to the back before they had to take cover from the shots being fired from out front. 

“Heda, Blake, get out of there!” Indra yelled into their ears. 

“Trying!” Lexa grunted as she motioned for Octavia to go out while she shot at the front where men started filing in firing at them. “Anya, some help here!”

“On it!” The woman replied and a minute later, shots were being fired through the back door towards the front taking out a few men who had managed to make it in. “Blake, get out now!”

“There’s too many of them.” Octavia replied as she shot into the front room. “I’d get hit.”

“Heda?” Anya asked seeking direction.

Lexa’s mind was racing for answers on how to get them out of the damn building. Protocol dictated to use drastic measures as a final option. With everything happening as it was, they were quickly coming down to that. She hated what she was about to do, but it was the only way.

Octavia looked at her as she moved to grab the grenade from her belt. “Heda?”

“Be ready to run.” Lexa replied pulling the ring and throwing it into the front room. 

“Jok!” Octavia yelled as she scrambled for the back door. “You crazy bitch!”

Men shouting was the last thing Lexa heard as she followed before there was the loud explosion which threw her forward through the doorframe. The ground shook slightly underneath her as she landed hard on her stomach. She grabbed the sides of her head groaning as her ears started ringing. Of all the things she had been through, her ears ringing was one of her biggest annoyances. 

“Lexa!” Anya yelled as she came to her side. Lexa couldn’t hear her, but she could tell she was calling her name by the way her lips moved.

“I’m alright! Let’s move!” Lexa yelled back and grunted as she came to her feet. They ran down the back alley, avoiding the bodies fallen about in various spots.

They were halfway down the alley when they were followed, and the gun fire started again. Falling behind a dumpster, Lexa yelled in frustration. At this rate, they would be lucky to get down the alleyway let alone get home in one piece. She watched Octavia and Anya take cover and return fire. 

“I’m out!” Octavia shouted waving her gun. She grabbed a smoke bomb and threw it down the alley to help their cover. 

“Get over here!” Anya yelled as she shot down another guy getting close to the dumpster Lexa took cover behind. “Heda, you need to move.”

“No shit, really?” Lexa growled faintly hearing the suggestion through the ringing. “Get down the alley, I’ll cover you!”

“What about you?” Octavia asked looking directly at her. 

“That’s an order, Blake!” Lexa growled as she turned to do as she said. “I’ll follow and meet you there. We need to get the target out of here!”

“Sha, Heda. Octavia move!” Anya could be seen pushing the reluctant brunette towards the end of the alley.

“The building is completely overrun. I’m pulling out.” Indra called in her ear. “Get out, Heda.”

“I plan to!” Lexa cursed as she too ran out of ammo. She grabbed her second and final grenade and without hesitation, pulled the ring and let it fly behind her as far as her arm could throw it. Covering her ears and preparing her body, she wasn’t waiting for long before the ground shook again from the explosion and she took off running as fast as her legs would carry her. 

Her mistake, however, had been not to look back behind her. If she had, she would have seen that one of the men chasing them had only been thrown from the explosion, losing his gun in the process, and was now getting up to chase after her. He tackled her from behind and they both fell to the ground in a tangled mess of arms and legs. 

Lexa grunted as she lashed out with her leg and pushed him off her. She watched him roll to his feet and pull a knife slashing out towards her. She easily ducked his advance and moved away from him. He yelled and lunged after her again, expecting her to duck again and completely missing when she maneuvered around him instead. 

A searing pain shot from her arm causing her to wince after he had managed to bring the blade up just in time before she moved away.

Lexa huffed in annoyance, “Thank you! My girlfriend is going to kill me now, bastard!” 

She lunged and with two motions, immobilized his arm. Breaking it and he immediately let go of the knife. Kicking it away, she connected the same foot with his face making him drop unconscious to the ground. Before he hit the ground entirely, she was already on the move down the alley. 

Following the route they had laid out before they went into the city, as quickly as she could, she made her way through the streets. Her path unpredictable to those who could possibly be tailing her, the shouts of men slowly faded behind her. Her lungs burned from the exertion, but she kept going. 

“Heda?” Octavia’s worried voice called into her ear.

“I’m alright.” Lexa replied. “Let’s get the hell out of here and go home!”

The trip back to the U.S was uneventful, aside from the minor disagreement Octavia had with Anya over betting on whether Lexa would get sick on the plane. When they landed, they were met by their superior officers who retrieved the pack Octavia kept that contained the very reason for their mission. After being ushered to get their injuries treated, they were released to go home. 

Everything from the time they left foreign soil was a blur to Lexa. Her first priority since arriving in the U.S was working on getting home as soon as possible. She was thoroughly reprimanded for her team’s actions by her Sergeant while she got her arm looked at and left with a promise that he would be following up with her. Only after he spoke with his superiors would they revisit what had been decided to do with Trikru. Lexa wasn’t worried and took it in stride, only caring to finish what was required of her. 

Lexa pulled her phone out as the plane heading for Arkadia was in its last leg. She dialed Clarke’s number and waited for her to pick up.

“Hi.”

“Hello, Prisa.” Lexa smiled as soon as she heard the blonde’s voice. “We’re almost to the airport and I know of a certain blonde I’d really like to stop by and see.”

“Did you not get my message?” The tone in Clarke’s voice immediately worried the Marine who sat up a little more.

“What’s wrong? Are you ok?” 

“I’m ok but we’re at the hospital. Raven was in an accident.” 

Lexa’s eyes moved to Anya who sat beside her with headphones on. “What happened?”

“What’s going on?” Octavia asked having leaned forward and smack Lexa’s arm to get her attention. This caused Anya to pull an earbud out of her ear and look to the two as well.

“How long until you’re here?” Clarke asked in her ear.

“Raven was in an accident.” Lexa glared at Octavia after she had hit her arm again. Into her phone she said, “We’re about thirty minutes out.”

“I’ll text you the room info. I gotta go though, the doctor just came in.” The blonde said in a hurried voice. “I’ll see you soon, Wookie.”

“See you soon.” Lexa replied before the line was disconnected and she looked to the three sets of eyes staring at her.

“Well?” Anya was the first to speak.

“They’re at the hospital. I don’t know how bad it is.” Lexa rubbed her temples having already been fighting a headache. “I swear if this is related to what’s been going on with Clarke, he’s a dead man.”

“No kidding.” Octavia sat back with a scowl upon her face. “This is ridiculous!”

“You ok, Anya?” Indra asked placing her hand on the unusually quiet woman’s shoulder.

Lexa looked to the woman beside her again and noted her demeanor had changed completely. Their only response was a nod and the earbud being placed back in. A minute later, green eyes went to her phone that vibrated and she looked at the text to see it was the information on what room and floor the roommates were on. 

“So much for a happy reunion.” Lexa muttered as she shut her phone off and prepared herself for the plane landing. 

Lincoln met them at the airport as usual. His reunion with Octavia was short lived as the feisty woman insisted they get a move on it to check on Raven. Trikru hurried to the SUV and were taken right to the hospital, still in uniform. Leaving their gear in the vehicle, they immediately headed up in the elevator after being given directions and started for the room the signs pointed out. 

Lexa’s heart sped up as they knocked on the door to Raven’s room before entering. They were greeted by the sight of a blonde-haired man sitting in a chair by Raven’s side. Clarke was absent from the room, which made Lexa’s shoulders slump slightly. 

“Hey guys!” Raven lit up and she smiled at them as they surrounded her bed. “You all are a sight for sore eyes, geez!”

“What the hell are you doing going and getting yourself in an accident for?” Octavia leaned down and hugged her friend. “What happened?”

“I’m gonna be right outside the door.” Indra whispered to Lexa. The brunette nodded, aware of the woman’s phobia of confined spaces and with as many people in the room, she couldn’t blame her for wanting to step out. 

“-and then I saw him coming right for me.” Lexa’s attention snapped back to Raven who was in the middle of telling them what had happened. 

“Him who?” Anya hissed, the first words she had spoken since she had came into the room.

“Finn.”

Lexa looked to the doorway where the familiar voice answered. Green eyes connected with blue and she was moving before she even registered it. Her arms wrapped tightly around Clarke as she pulled her into a long-awaited hug. 

The rest of the room faded away as she held onto her girlfriend, relief flooding through her veins the moment they touched. When the embrace was reciprocated with as much fervor as her own, her heart leapt, and she couldn’t hold back the smile that graced her lips. 

Clarke pulled away slightly, her eyes moving to the bandage that wrapped around Lexa’s arm and she frowned. “I thought you promised to come home in one piece?”

“Hazards of the job.” Lexa smiled reassuringly as she cupped Clarke’s cheek. Before the blonde could speak another word, their lips were brought together in a much-needed kiss.

“Will you two get a room?” Raven’s voice brought their attention back to where they were and both blushed in realization that many pairs of eyes were upon them. “Better yet, I’ll leave and you two can stay here.”

“I think it’s sweet.” Octavia punched the darker woman on the bed. “Lay off, Reyes.”

“Bite me, Blake!” Raven growled attempting to swing back at Octavia but missing when she moved away. “No fair! I’m injured!”

“So am I!” Octavia shot back pointing out her bandaged arm where she’d been shot. The bullet had grazed her skin just enough to warrant stitches. 

“I think I’m gonna take off.” The forgotten blonde man who had been sitting in the room finally brought attention to himself as he stood and looked to Raven. “See you later, Raven.”

“Thanks for visiting with me, Wick.” Raven nodded at him as he made his way through the group of people gathered around her and out the door. 

“He’s a coworker.” Clarke whispered in Lexa’s ear at the questioning look upon the Marine’s face. 

Lexa nodded and looked to Anya who moved to the chair that was vacated and had taken Raven’s hand. 

“I’m hungry.” Octavia said looking between everyone. “Lincoln and I will go grab us all some grub.”

With the room having cleared out some, Lexa moved to the empty chair on the other side of the hospital bed, pulling Clarke along with her, allowing the blonde to use her lap as a seat while they just enjoyed being in one another’s presence again. While both wanted to say so many things, they remained quiet as the only other two women in the room quietly spoke to one another. 

“How bad is it?” Anya asked looking at the leg propped up by the pulley.

“Not that bad.” Raven shrugged her eyes never leaving the Marine beside her. “The medicine helps with the pain.”

“What’s being done?” Anya’s face fell to their joined hands and to the other three in the room, they could see the bottled up emotion being held within as she took a deep breath to steady her nerves even as her body slightly shook. Not because she was cold either.

“He’s on the run.” Clarke answered for her before she looked sadly at Lexa. “They also found out more information on him under an alias in Chicago.”

Both Marine’s looked at each other before glancing between Raven and Clarke, waiting for one or the other to further explain what that meant. It was Raven who spoke, “He’s had a history of doing this before. In Chicago, he was arrested for multiple counts of stalking and one attempted assault, on top of a whole slew of other charges.”

“This is the first time he’s gone this far though.” Clarke added her face conveying what her unspoken words did not and Lexa pulled the blonde closer to her. 

“We will figure out how to find him.” Anya’s determined gaze lifted to look at Raven. “You have my word.”

Lexa nodded in agreement when dark eyes found hers, “We have certain…connections. We will find him.”

“So, are you two finally going to fess up to this clandestine relationship you two have going on?” Clarke asked smiling as she received a glare from her roommate.

“Shut up, Griffindor.” Raven growled.

Lexa watched as Anya blushed and smirked, “Why, Forrest, that’s a pretty shade of red on you.”

“You’re both asses.” Anya glared as well but when she looked to the woman lying beside her, her eyes softened, “We can’t hide much from those two.”

“No, we can’t.” Raven rolled her eyes. “I swear Clarke has ESP or something!”

Their laughter could be heard down the hallway.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***Trigger Warning***
> 
> We find out what happened to Clarke. Again, nothing to graphic (I couldn't bring myself to do that) but enough to make some uncomfortable.
> 
> Mochof  
> -RK

Clarke sighed as she leaned her head against the passenger side window. Raven had insisted that Lexa take her home as the blonde barely left her roommates side the whole time she had been in the hospital. After a long argument that brought the nurses in the room threatening to remove them all, Anya had promised to stay with the injured woman and that she would let her know if anything happened in her absence.

Clarke smiled as she felt her hand be taken in the brunette’s, both sitting in a comfortable silence as Lexa drove her car back to the apartment. Her mom had told her to leave at one point and come back with her car so she had a faster way home instead of walking, and she was now grateful for it. She squeezed the hand holding hers, looking down at their entwined fingers and basking in the feeling of having her girlfriend back after not seeing her for a couple months.

“I missed you.” Clarke said looking up to the brunette’s profile. 

“I miss you, too.” Lexa glanced at her and smiled looking back towards the road after a second.

Clarke’s eyes roamed the body next to hers. Being in uniform certainly suited the Marine and the blonde wasn’t complaining at all. Her eyes fell again to the bandage around Lexa’s arm and she couldn’t stop herself from asking, “How bad was it?”

Lexa was quiet for a moment before she spoke, “The knife didn’t go too deep.”

“I guess it could have been worse.” Clarke frowned and looked back out the front windshield, unbuckling as they turned into the parking lot of the apartments and parked in her spot. 

Lexa, being Lexa, was around the car and opening the door for her before she could fully open it all the way, making the blonde smile brightly and take the offered hand. She missed the brunette and the small things she did for her, even if it was as silly as opening her doors for her. They walked hand in hand up the stairs. 

“Prisa, I-”

Clarke tugged the woman inside the opened door and interrupted whatever the brunette was going to say as she pressed her lips against hers. She shut the door and pushed the Marine up against it, deepening the kiss when she slid her tongue through parted lips. Both groaned at the feeling of the others tongue sliding against one another.

“Clarke…” Lexa husked as Clarke’s lips moved from hers down her neck. The way her name was enunciated emphasizing the ‘k’ in the blonde’s name further fueling the blonde’s desire to take this elsewhere.

“Bedroom.” Clarke nipped at the tanned neck beneath her lips. “Now!”

Lexa smirked as she lifted the blonde into her arms, legs wrapped around her waist as they moved towards Clarke’s room. Lips pressed against one another again causing Lexa to slightly stumble in the hallway, making them both chuckle as an arm reached out and braced them both against the wall for her to regain her balance. 

Luckily, Clarke’s room wasn’t far, and they were able to enter without another incident or the Marine dropping her. As Lexa went to put Clarke down on the bed, the blonde pulled away from the heated kiss and shook her head.

“I need to shower, babe.” Clarke kissed her quickly again. “I swear it won’t take me long.”

She giggled as Lexa groaned dramatically, dropping onto the bed but not before smacking Clarke on her ass as the blonde scurried to the connecting bathroom. 

Shutting the door and removing her clothing as if they were on fire, she jumped in the still warming water to clean herself up. Quickly looking her body up and down, she thanked whatever deity was listening that her hair grew back slowly and that she didn’t need to spend time on maintenance from her waist down. She hurried to wash and stepped out, drying her hair as much as she could before wrapping the towel around her. She paused a moment when she realized she heard voices on the other side of the bathroom door. Confused, she opened the door to find Lexa sitting on the bed, a look of fury upon her face as she looked at the TV screen in front of her.

Clarke gasped as she saw herself on her bed. She appeared lucid but the glassy eyes that looked back at the camera told her that her mind was somewhere else.

“Say Hello Clarke.” Finn’s taunting voice caused the blood to drain from her face as she stood there in the doorway of the bathroom. Her hand came up and braced herself as she swayed slightly.

“Go to hell.” Clarke had managed a reply clenching her teeth her eyes blinking rapidly as if she was in a daze. So maybe she was slightly aware of what was going on at the time it happened. 

The camera shifted and Finn’s face came into view as he sat down beside her on the bed. He grinned wickedly into the lens and looked to his hand that moved closer to the blonde who lay completely motionless. Only the slightest motion of her chest rising and falling giving any sign that she was even breathing altogether.

Blue eyes widened as clarity hit her as to what he was about to do and she could see the same glassy eyes figure it out as well and change to an inner struggle as she was helpless to do anything. The drug he had given her making her unable to move from the looks of it. 

“You see, Clarke, I could do so many things to you right now.” His voice held a haunting tone and all blue eyes could do is stare as his hand pulled her shirt up slowly to expose her skin. “So many things that you wouldn’t be able to resist. I know you still want me.”

“Please…stop.” Clarke heard herself whimper as he ran his fingers over her stomach. 

“Tell me, baby, has your new girlfriend touched you like I have? Has she fucked you for hours until you begged for rest?” 

“Finn…please…don’t.”

“I love it when you beg.” 

“If you do this…she will find you…will kill you.” She had started struggling hard to keep a coherent sentence. Her eyes had changed on the screen, “…won’t be anywhere you…able…run.”

Clarke couldn’t believe what she was seeing. How had she not seen this side of the man she’d been with, not even a hint? He hid this side well evidently because she couldn’t imagine ever being with anyone like this ever in her life. Her body trembled as she watched, unable to pull her eyes away from the screen.

Finn had laughed at her threat and pulled roughly at the revealed bra until she saw her chest was exposed. Her free hand immediately came up to her towel covered chest as if somehow it would make what had happened better.

“Do you think I’m scared of that bitch? Do you think I don’t know what you two have been doing since we last saw each other? I’ve followed you! I’ve watched you two pawing away at each other, the looks you give one another. It’s sickening!”

“You’re crazy.” Clarke had growled at him, only the slightest look of anger passing through the haze in her eyes.

“And you’re mine.” He hissed back cupping her breast with one hand and moving his hand down her stomach. “I guess I’ll just have to remind you.”

“No!!!” 

Clarke shook her head furiously and sank to her knees, her legs giving out on her from the emotional onslaught she felt. She watched helplessly as his hand headed for her jeans and she heard her own struggled cries of protest. Arms were around her a second after she hit the floor, the feeling of warmth and safety enveloping her as she buried her face in Lexa’s neck. 

“You were right.” Clarke could feel Lexa’s body trembling at the Marine’s words, “I’m going to kill that nomonjoka.”

“Oh, Clarke? Clarkeeee?” 

Finns voice caught their attention, and they both looked back to the screen where he had stopped moving his hand towards her jeans and taken the camera, looking directly into it again.

“I think you get the hint what I can do to you.” He winked as he brought his hand into view wiggling his fingers. He laughed and then smirked before his face turned serious, “Get rid of the fucking dyke, Clarke, or things will get worse and I won’t stop myself from getting what I want. Remember, I know your weaknesses and I won’t be afraid to use them.”

He reached out of sight of the camera and then pulled back looking down, he then lifted the picture frame in hand and showed it to the camera, “I’ll start with her first to prove to you I’m serious.”

The tears didn’t stop as blue eyes saw the picture she had taken with Raven months ago that sat on her dresser.

“See to it that she is gone.” He blew a kiss and then the picture froze where it was, the video having come to an end. 

Clarke’s mind raced, he was beyond crazy he was psychotic and sick. While she was relieved to know the answers to the questions she had had for a while, she was undecided as to whether or not knowing what had happened was better than not knowing. She felt completely violated and at the memory of seeing what he did on video, her stomach churned and she was moving quickly to the toilet as what small amount of food she’d had earlier came back up. 

Lexa hadn’t said a word more, moving with the blonde to sit on the edge of the tub, holding Clarke’s hair back with one hand and rubbing her back with the other. Moving only to get a cold wash rag for her neck and face. Her own internal battle waging as she desperately wanted to take off and hunt Finn down, but also wanting to stay and console her distraught girlfriend. The latter of the two won and she stayed.

When there was nothing left in her stomach and the dry heaving subsided, Clarke leaned sideways into Lexa’s embrace, her forehead resting on the Marine’s thigh as she kneeled between her legs. Although she wanted to cry, the tears refused to fall and all she was left with was her eyes burning and a lump in her throat. 

Gentle kisses were placed on top of her head causing her to tilt her head back and look sadly into Lexa’s eyes. While to anyone else, those green eyes would seem masked, Clarke knew better and saw past it, seeing the mixture of emotions within. Anger colliding with concern, expressing just how much the brunette was struggling at the moment even though she hadn’t spoken a word. 

“I’m sorry.” Clarke finally said breaking the silence which coincidently broke the dam holding her tears in. “I’m so sorry, Lexa.”

Lexa brought her hand to wipe away the tears that fell, her own eyes watering but not falling, “This wasn’t your fault. You don’t need to apologize for what he did.”

“No, but you don’t deserve to deal with this.” Clarke shook her head as she took the rag and wiped at her face with it, “You don’t deserve to come home from putting your life in danger and have to deal with this.”

“If you’re trying to break up with me over this, it’s not going to work.” Lexa smiled slightly leaning forward and brushing her lips gently over the blondes. “You did nothing wrong, Clarke.”

Wrapping her arms around the Marine’s neck, Clarke lifted from her knees slightly to hug her close. She didn’t know what else to say, only knowing that with Lexa being close to her she felt safe. Safer than she’d felt in weeks. The emotional roller coaster her mind was putting her through caused her to crack again and another round of tears started falling and didn’t let up. 

“Sshhh…I’ve got you.” Lexa whispered in her ear, “Let’s get you dressed, ok?”

“Oh, god!” Clarke flushed a bright red as she suddenly realized she was still only in a towel. 

“Chil au, Prisa.” Lexa smiled as she brushed wet blonde locks behind an ear. “Let me go turn the TV off and get the disc out. I’ll go make a phone call while you get dressed.”

“Ok.” Clarke nodded, waiting as the brunette disappeared to do just that. 

After brushing her teeth, Clarke moved into the room to find something to throw on once she heard her bedroom door close behind the Marine. When she did, after one look at her bed, the image of herself and Finn on it made her look away. Her heart raced and she nearly tripped over her shoe as she turned to get her clothes and get the hell out of the room. 

She would need to get rid of that bed and get a new one. There was no way she was going to sleep in it ever again. Images of lighting it on fire came to mind making her smile slightly as she threw on her underwear and some sweats. Her bra and a tank top were next, and she barely remembered to grab the detective’s card from her bedside before she left her room. 

With everything that happened to Raven, she had completely forgotten about the box that they had gotten the morning of the accident. Part of her wished they had opened it right away, maybe that would have saved her friend from the fate she had. If they had, Raven could have been more cautious and aware of her surroundings. Maybe.

“Yes. No. Of course they are handling it. I want this taken care of right now.” As she spoke, Lexa stood by the sliding glass door talking on her cell phone, “If you find anything that could help me, let me know right away. I don’t care what time it is just fucking call me!”

Clarke sat down on the couch and grabbed the remote to turn on the TV putting it on mute until her girlfriend was done, her eyes glancing at the disc on the coffee table before turning back to select Netflix from the menu options on the screen. A minute later Lexa was kneeling in front of her.

“I’m gonna run down to your car and grab my pack.” She took Clarke’s hands and squeezed them. “I will be right back ok?”

“I’ll be fine for two minutes, Wookie.” Clarke attempted to lighten their moods which worked only slightly. “Go, get your pack.”

Lexa kissed her quickly before she left the apartment. Clarke grabbed her phone and dialed the number on the card in her hand. The conversation was short, Clarke informed the detective of the disc and what was on it. She was told that they would be by to get it on their way back to the station and to expect them in about twenty minutes. 

A soft knock on her door made her jump as the door opened a second later revealing Lexa as she returned with her pack over her shoulder. The Marine disappeared down the hall for a few minutes and returned in more comfortable clothes, much to Clarke’s disappointment. 

“What?” Green eyes questioned as she sat beside the blonde.

Clarke stuck her lower lip out just a bit, “I liked the uniform.”

Lexa rolled her eyes and grabbed the couch pillow and lightly hit Clarke with it before adjusting herself and placing the pillow between her legs motioning for the blonde to move closer. When Clarke did, arms wrapped around her and she placed her head on Lexa’s chest. Her eyes shut momentarily at the sound of the heart beneath her ear and she focused on listening to its rhythm. She didn’t budge when Lexa took the remote and turned on a documentary on Netflix, something she would have protested but at the moment she didn’t even care. 

When there was a knock at the door, she felt the body beneath her immediately tense. Clarke looked up at Lexa who could have burned holes into her door with the look she was giving it and she kissed her gently before standing.

“It’s the detectives on the case.” Clarke explained. “They’ve come for the disc.”

“Let me answer it.” Lexa stood as well and motioned for her to take a seat which the blonde refused until green eyes met her blue ones and she added, “Humor me.”

“We’re here to see Ms. Griffin.” A darker man said as he showed Lexa his badge once she opened the door.

“And you?” Lexa nodded to the other woman standing beside him who dutifully pulled her own badge out without question and provided it for the Marine. Nodding in approval, Lexa stepped back and allowed them in, “She’s right there.”

“Thank you…er…” The man fumbled looking for her to provide her name. 

“This is my girlfriend, Alexandria Woods.” Clarke said when the brunette refused to answer. She stood by the couch holding the disc and handed it to the woman detective. “It’s all on there and we can tie Raven’s accident with this as well for certain.”

They spoke more about the case, both detectives taking notes and asking questions. Clarke leaned into Lexa who moved to stand behind her, her hands on the blonde’s hips in a way of support. The detectives left soon after and it was just them again. When they sat back down on the couch and had just barely gotten comfortable, the door burst open and a pissed off feisty brunette barged in.

“Why in the hell did I have to hear through the fucking grapevine that there was a video?” Octavia asked fuming. “That joka is just digging his grave isn’t he?” 

“Octavia!” Clarke growled as she lifted herself off the couch from where she landed when Lexa had jumped up at the interruption ready to fight. 

“Calm down, Heda.” Octavia brushed off the angry green eyes glaring at her as she sat beside Clarke. “But seriously, what the hell?”

“We just found it, O.” Clarke took Lexa’s hand and coaxed her down on the other side where she’d been sitting. “The detectives were just here getting it.”

“So, that’s who I passed coming up?” Octavia ran her hand through her hair. “How bad was it?”

“Can we not talk about it right now?” Clarke asked grabbing the remote and turning up whatever documentary that Lexa put on that had been playing the whole time. She missed the look Lexa gave Octavia which made her best friend realize that it was bad. 

“Well, I’m not going anywhere so you’re stuck with me.” Octavia said jumping up from her seat, “Got any food? I’m starving!”

“You know where my kitchen is.” Clarke mumbled as she took her position against Lexa once again. She felt fingers running through her hair, detangling it as they went which caused her to sigh. 

“We will find him.” Lexa whispered kissing the top of her head. “Until then, you are safe with me.”

“I know.” Clarke nuzzled her head against her chest and sighed once more. She couldn’t suppress the feeling that threatened to escape and within a second was covering her mouth as she yawned.

Lexa kissed her head again and continued to brush her fingers through blonde hair, “Rest, Prisa, I’ve got you.”

Octavia returned from the kitchen with two sandwiches, one in which she offered Lexa but was turned down. She took a seat in the recliner and nodded at Clarke who appeared to have finally fallen asleep. “Is she going to be ok?”

“I hope so.” Lexa whispered back looking from the TV back to the woman in her arms. “It’s hard saying.”

“We’re gonna get this guy, aren’t we?” Octavia asked her eyes flashing in anger. “He not only messed with my two best friend’s but he’s messed with Trikru doing it.”

Lexa’s eyebrow rose as she looked to the brunette beside her and her head tilted slightly in silent question.

Octavia rolled her eyes and looked pointedly at Clarke, “She’s yours, Heda, and it’s obvious Raven and Anya have something going because they both suck at hiding shit. There’s no way we’re going to let him fuck with our family.”

Lexa nodded and looked back to the woman in her arms, kissing her head once again. She smiled when her body was squeezed by the arms wrapped around her, an indication that the blonde had heard every word that Octavia had said. 

Clarke was woken an hour later when Lexa’s phone started ringing again. This time she was gently lifted as Lexa sat up to talk. Sleepy eyes focused finally and the blonde noted that Octavia sat alert in the recliner, her eyes trained on Lexa who hadn’t said a word to whoever called but was writing furiously on the notepad that sat on the table. 

“Thank you.” The Marine finally stated before disconnecting the call.

“Well?” Octavia asked as she leaned to look the notepad. “Coordinates?”

Green eyes looked to blue, the mixture of emotion within both evident as Lexa stated, “We’ve found him.”

“Son of a bitch. What are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Octavia was on her feet and headed for the door within a second.

“Lexa, please.” Clarke was quick to grab her girlfriend’s hand, holding her from following as the brunette stood up as well. “Let me call the detectives and let them go get him.”

“Clarke, he needs to pay for what he’s done.” Octavia said when all Lexa could do was stare at the blonde. “He’s gone too far this time and he needs to learn a lesson.”

“I’m sorry.” Lexa shook her head as she broke free of the hand on her arm, “But I have to go.”

“Lexa!” Clarke followed her to the door but was stopped as a hand was placed on her chest and she was pushed back from leaving.

“Stay here.” Lexa kissed her quickly, “I’ll text you in a bit with his location. Give me this.”

Clarke’s mind raced as green eyes stared into hers. Her heart was racing at the thought of Lexa going after her psychotic ex and what could happen when she got there. Lexa was a highly trained Marine, she could do damage or worse, kill him. Would she be okay with knowing that whatever befell Finn came at her hands knowing she was the only one capable of stopping her girlfriend in this moment?

Before she could come to a decision, another kiss was placed upon her lips and then Lexa was gone.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning...Violence ahead. 
> 
> Read at your own risk.

“How long before you text her?” Octavia asked as she sped down the street.

Lexa glanced at her before looking back out the window. “After his head has been firmly planted up his ass.”

“Please tell me you’re going to let us toy with him a bit?” Octavia asked pulling up to the hospital where Anya stood waiting for them outside.

“Let’s get this nomonjoka.” Anya growled as she got in the back seat. “Raven’s sleeping and I’d like to be back before she wakes up.”

“Beja, Heda.” Octavia ignored her new passenger’s statement and pushed Lexa who glared at her. 

“Drive.” Lexa hissed looking at her phone. 

“Are we getting Indra?” Anya asked from the back. “Or is it just us?”

“I wasn’t able to get a hold of her.” Octavia said, “But we sent her a text with the address on where to find us. If she isn’t there when we get there then it’s just us.”

“Good.” Anya nodded before falling silent and sitting back in her seat. 

Lexa flipped through her photo gallery on her phone, keeping her eyes on the pictures of her and Clarke she had saved over the last couple of months they had been together. She was doing all she could to distract herself from flying into a fit of rage. She knew it was building within her every time she thought of what had been done and knew that once she saw the man who’d hurt Clarke, she wasn’t going to be able to restrain herself. 

She was well versed in self control. As a Marine, you learn quickly to keep your emotions in check and to think clearly in the most distressing situations. At this point she needed something to focus on in order to do so and for her that was Clarke. Their pictures did little to help, but it gave her something to do. 

It wasn’t much longer that Octavia stopped the car before a long driveway. Nothing else was in view, just trees and the driveway. They unbuckled and stepped out of the car, walking in silence as they moved around the trees towards the house they knew Finn was staying at. 

After some unlawful digging by someone who owed Lexa a favor, it wasn’t hard to trace the utility accounts that were being paid for by Finn’s bank account and tie them back to this house that was in someone else’s name. Their only problem now would be to figure out if he was home and what to do with him during the time they had before getting out of there when the detectives showed up.

“Someone’s home.” Anya said nodding towards a small car parked close to the house that had come into view. 

“Doors big enough for you to knock and when he answers we’ll push our way in.” Octavia said looking to the dirty blonde. “He would recognize Lexa or me.”

“Sounds good.” Anya said grinning. “Time for some pay back.”

“We leave him alive.” Lexa said her face bare of any emotion. “We get in, we get out and let the system do what it does best.”

“Sit on their asses?” Octavia asked chuckling. 

“Shut up, Octavia.” Anya hissed shoving her.

They crept up to the front door, making sure to stay out of sight of the windows and peephole. Octavia and Lexa stood on either side of the doorframe when Anya lifted her fist to knock. They could hear a thud and stomping towards the door before it swung open. 

“Son of a-” Finn yelped and he tried to close the door, but with three bodies pressing against it, he was outmatched and they were able to get in, knocking him to the floor on his ass.

“Surprise, Asshole!” Octavia growled as she grabbed his arm. “You seriously think you can fuck with our family and get away with it?”

“Fuck you, Octavia!” He hissed as Anya punched him in the stomach. Octavia grabbed him and he was lifted to his feet. He swung out with his free arm and managed to punch her in the face, scrambling away as he was instantly released and trying to get to the door. 

Anya’s foot connected with his heel as he tried leaping over the sofa in his way, causing him to lose his balance and fall on the floor again. He rolled onto his stomach to regain his footing, but not before he was grabbed strongly by both Anya and Octavia. 

“Oh, you bitches are gonna pay!” He glared at Lexa who came closer to him having waited for the right moment.

“Not likely.” Her body shook with pent up rage she’d kept in check the entire way there and she wasn’t the least bit surprised when he was bent over groaning in pain after her fist connected into him the slight give and unmistakable sound of a rib breaking met her ears, “You worthless piece of shit. You sicken me.”

He started laughing as he was held firmly between the two Marine’s, “Your very nature sickens me!”

Her fist connected with his face, blood immediately oozing from his rebroken nose. His head snapped back as a left upper cut connected solidly with his chin. The force of the punch caused the two women holding him to lose their grip as he stumbled backwards. 

Red.

Lexa saw nothing but red as she was upon him within seconds, her fists connecting with anything and everything on his face and body. It wasn’t until she felt four hands upon her and hauling her backwards that her eyes cleared, and she saw what she’d done. She held no remorse for the bloody mess that used to be his face. She shrugged off the hands holding onto her as she kneeled down at his side.

“You ever fuck with my family again and I will kill you.” Standing up she sneered, “You were wrong about one thing though. She doesn’t have to beg me for her to rest. She passes out after I make her cum many many times.”

She turned and walked towards the front door. Before she made it through, she stopped and looked back at the other two who were glaring down at the man who lay groaning and gasping for air. 

“She went easy on you.” Anya spat on him as her leg connected with his side with a solid thud. She brought her leg back again and kicked him a few more times until Octavia placed her hands on the dirty blondes shoulders and pulled her away as well, “Stay away from Raven, you son of a bitch!”

Octavia kneeled at his side like Lexa had, “You see, Finnyboy, you really should have been warned. You mess with one of us, shame on you.” She tapped his cheek not so gently a few times. “You mess with two of us, well, shits gonna happen.” Her hand moved and a fist connected with his sternum, “You mess with the whole family, and you’re a dead man.” That same fist moved from his chest to hit him right between the legs, “Be thankful we don’t plan on going to prison for murdering your psychotic ass.”

Lexa knew that they needed to get out of there, but part of her wanted to continue and make sure he paid for what he had done to Clarke and Raven. The sight of him beaten just wasn’t enough for her and she caught herself stepping forward. 

“That’s enough. Let’s go!” Lexa yelled turning and walking out the door before she succumbed to the urge. 

“Don’t worry, Arkadia’s finest will be here soon to get you some help.” Octavia tweaked his nose causing him to howl in pain before she wiped his blood on his shirt and followed the other two women out. 

They weren’t that far away from his house when Lexa yelled and punched the dashboard in frustration. 

“Hey, hey hey!” Octavia placed her hand her arm. “Chil au, Leksa!”

“Take me to Lincoln.” Lexa said as she looked at her hands in her lap. Her knuckles were skinned and bloody from the beating she had given him, but she felt nothing.

“What about Clarke?” Octavia asked looking back at Anya with a worried look. 

“Clarke can’t see me like this.” Lexa said almost too calmly before looking up and Octavia saw why. Her usually green eyes were barely recognizable through the dilated pupils as adrenaline ran through the Marine’s veins. Her breathing was rapid, and her skin was starting to bead with sweat.

With a nod, the brunette driver headed for the hospital to drop Anya off and went directly to Polis from there. Silence filled the car, as they went. Lexa had sent Clarke a text stating where the detectives should go to get Finn and that she was ok, that she had something to do before she would be back. She turned off her phone to avoid the calls and texts she was sure to follow and sat back in the seat until they pulled up to Lincoln’s house. 

Without a word, she opened the garage that was also her cousin’s personal gym and she grabbed her gloves before she went directly for the hanging weight bag in the corner. She started punching it with every ounce of strength she had in her body, her fists connecting with it in rapid succession that it was hard to tell which one hit first. 

She kept up the pace continuously as she lost track of time, going after the inanimate object with everything she had and hoping that the adrenaline within her would subside soon and she would be free to think clearly. In the state she was in, she felt like she would rip the next person to cross her path to shreds. Especially, if it was a certain dark head man she had left a bloody mess.

Her mind was on replay. Seeing herself picking up the box she had found by Clarke’s bedside and discovering the disc within. Part of her felt like she was invading her girlfriend’s privacy, but on the other hand she was curious and the giftbox looked out of place where it sat.

She had not expected to watch her girlfriend be lain down on her bed and to hear his voice. Hearing the anguish in the blonde’s voice as she had opened the bathroom door and seen what was on the TV screen. Seeing the things he did to her over and over in her head. Touching, taunting, and tormenting her Clarke. HER Clarke.

“Nomonjoka! Du laik ain!” She yelled as she started losing her momentum and her hits began to slow. “She is mine.”

“You love her.” Lincoln’s voice came from behind her. His words more of a statement than a question and she stopped swinging at the bag, placing her hands on its sides to stop it from swaying. 

“Sha.” Lexa’s legs gave in and she was on her knees as if the wind were knocked out of her with the realization. “I love Clarke.”

“Then pull yourself together.” Lincoln said placing his hand on her shoulder when he kneeled beside her. “After everything you two have been through, she needs you to have that level head on your shoulders and be there for her.”

Lexa nodded numbly as she looked to her other side where Octavia kneeled as well. “How can I be so sure though?”

“You’re kidding me, right?” Octavia scoffed rolling her eyes, “You may have only known each other a short time but the heart wants what the heart desires.”

“Even you can’t deny the connection you two have.” Lincoln nodded in agreement. “Why don’t you go to her? I’m sure she needs you right now and is worried sick.”

“Take my car.” Octavia started to hand her the keys but clenched them in a fist before the brunette could take them. “Do not hurt my baby! You hurt my baby and you and I will be going rounds.”

“I won’t hurt your damn car.” Lexa growled playfully feeling more herself and unable to hold back the smile as she took the keys and stood up, hugging both of them. “Thank you.”

“Any time, Cuz.” Lincoln chuckled as she took off her gloves and put them away, “Next time you plan on trying to kill my punching bag, I’ll have to show you how to do it in less than forty five minutes.”

“What?” Lexa looked at him confused. 

“Dude, you were gone!” Octavia grinned. “You were really worked up. Totally in the zone! You should’ve seen-”

Lincoln covered her mouth, wrapping his arms around her as she tried to fight him off, “Go to Clarke, Lexa.”

The brunette shook her head at their antics as she jogged back to the car. She grabbed her phone off the passenger’s seat, deciding not to turn it on before she started for Arkadia and just sliding it into her pocket mindful of her knuckles. The drive there took less than what it should have as she broke every speed limit along the way. Thankfully, there wasn’t any sign of flashing lights behind her as she pulled into a visitor parking spot at the apartments. She took the stairs two at a time up to the third floor. Sliding to a stop and knocking gently on the apartment door. 

“Lexa!” Clarke cried out as she pulled it open and arms immediately wrapped around her. 

“I’m sorry.” Lexa murmured as she held onto the blonde. “I’m sorry I left.”

“Are you ok?” Clarke leaned back and looked her over, grimacing at the sight of the swollen bloody knuckles. 

“I’ll be fine.” Lexa leaned down and brought her lips to Clarke’s, needing that connection with the blonde to center her once more. Her heart fell as she was pushed back roughly, and angry blue eyes looked at her. 

“No! You scared the hell out of me!” Clarke shoved her again. “Why would you do that?”

“I had to do something!” Lexa pled stepping again towards her. “I had to protect you!”

“Protect me? You knew where he was! All we had to do was call the detectives and they would have gotten him!” Hands shoved her away again, “You could have gotten hurt! You did get hurt! What happens now when you get arrested for assault? Seriously, Lexa, were you not thinking at all?”

If Lexa could feel lower than what she had felt before, she was feeling it at that moment. Of all the scenarios she had run through her head when she returned to the apartment, this definitely wasn’t one of them. She knew she would have to apologize for her actions but this anger coming off Clarke in waves, threw her off. 

“I got the call awhile ago saying he was found unconscious.” Clarke’s voice dropped as she started pointedly at the brunette. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“In my defense, he was still conscious when I left him.” Green eyes dropped to the floor in front of her, feeling uneasy.

“I choose you, Lexa.” Clarke stepped to her and placed both her hands on the brunette’s cheeks lifting her gaze, “I want you, but if you’re going to go off half-cocked whenever there’s trouble when we can avoid it that worries me.”

“I swear I won’t!” Lexa shook her head and placed her hands on Clarke’s waist. “Please, Prisa, don’t make me go.”

She knew she was begging, something she never did. Her emotions were everywhere and the thought of being turned away when she needed Clarke the most, scared her. When she saw the anger in those blue eyes melt into concern she almost cried out in relief. She would have gone as far as begging on her knees if she had to.

“What’s wrong?” 

Lexa didn’t say a word. Her lower lip trembled but no words came. Her eyes filled with tears that slowly fell down her cheeks. She shook her head again and looked up unable to express to the woman before her all that she felt at that moment. She was a mess and had reached her breaking point and knew she was about to fall apart. 

“Lexa, talk to me.” Clarke whispered brushing the tears away bringing their foreheads together. 

Lexa breathed in deeply, taking in the scent that was Clarke and her eyes shut as she tried to calm herself. “I don’t want you alone right now and I can’t-”

“Then we won’t be.” Clarke interrupted. “We’re going to have to talk about this, but I won’t make you leave.”

“Mochof, Prisa.” A sigh of relief escaped the Marine’s lips as she pulled the blonde into a hug, nuzzling her nose into her neck. She knew that this was a step in the right direction for them to work out what had happened, and she wasn’t going to take it for granted. 

“C’mon, Wookie.” Clarke pulled away and pinched her own nose, a playful smile on her lips, “You smell and need a shower!”

“I’ll go only if you join me.” Lexa grinned as she moved to pick her up but found nothing but air as Clarke moved out of reach. 

“You’re gonna have to learn new tricks, babe.” The blonde winked at her as she moved away from the Marine. “I’ve got your number.”

“Is that so?” An eyebrow rose as Lexa stepped closer to her, “I’ll have to change it then.”

“Shit!” Clarke laughed as she dodged the lunge coming at her and moved into the living room. Bad decision on her part as Lexa cornered her and she had nowhere to go. Blue eyes connected with green as she held her hands up to stop the advancement, “Lexa, please…”

Lexa tilted her head to the side as she stepped one more time towards the blonde who was now pressed up against the wall. She placed both her hands on each side of Clarke, successfully blocking any way possible for her escape. She brought her face close to hers, smiling at the intake of breath she heard come from Clarke’s parted lips. 

Just as blue eyes closed in anticipation of a kiss, she whispered, “You’re right. I do need a shower.” She pushed off the wall and made her way to the room. 

“You’re sooo going to pay for that!”

Lexa laughed as she pulled out a change of clothes. Before she entered the bathroom though, she grabbed the pillows off the bed and the blanket, delivering them out to the living room, smiling at the questioning look she was given by Clarke before turning back to take her shower. 

“Quit trying to score brownie points, Wookie!”

“Never!” 

After her shower and bandaging her hands, the rest of the evening was spent cuddled up on the couch. The TV played softly in the background as they both opened up to one another. Hours passed with laughter and tears, both balancing the other perfectly at the right moments. It wasn’t until the silence had stretched between them that Lexa looked to Clarke and realized she’d fallen asleep upon her chest. 

It was at that moment that the Marine gave up questioning herself. She had fallen for the blonde hard and the fact that Clarke had chosen to stay with her after everything that had happened, it just made her fall even harder. She leaned down and kissed her forehead, nuzzling her hair as she whispered softly.

“Ai hod yu in, Klark.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record...Clarke and Lexa have NOT slept together yet. lol
> 
> Drop a Kudo, a comment, or both. This story is wrapping up soon. 
> 
> Mochof,  
> -RK


	21. Chapter 21

Much to the frustration of both women, Clarke hardly saw much of Lexa the following week after Finn was taken into custody. They had both been brought in for questioning and were more than a bit nervous as to what would come about the results of the investigation of the assault on the man. 

When the call came informing the blonde that no charges were being filed against the members of Trikru involved, Clarke was more than relieved. She had tried to get a hold of Lexa to see if she’d gotten the call as well but was unable to get in touch with her. She was starting to get upset after not hearing back from her for so long especially since they’d already been a part. She began to wonder what her girlfriend could be up to.

“Dude, I’m sure she’s fine.” Raven said throwing the blonde an annoyed look as she sat beside the injured woman visiting her in the hospital. “She’s probably busy with her bar or something. Hell, Anya told me that they could be in trouble for what they did on the mission. So, she could be dealing with that.”

“This just isn’t like her though.” Clarke brought the pencil she held in her hand up to her mouth and began to chew on the eraser. She had been doodling in her sketchbook while keeping her roommate entertained. Well, sort of entertained, considering her constant complaining since she walked in the door of not being able to see or talk to Lexa.

“What up, bitches?” Octavia laughed as she waltzed into the room, taking the extra seat and kicking her feet up onto the bed beside Raven.

“O, thank god, someone to save me from Debbie Downer over here.” Raven shot Clarke a look who only glared at her in response. 

“Why are you down, Griffindor?” Octavia asked looking to the blonde. “I figured you’d be in a good mood considering the news.”

“Well, I would be if I could actually talk to my girlfriend about it.” Clarke sniped, unable to hold back the irritation in her voice. “We spent months apart, you’d think the first week she’s back we’d spend time together.”

“Yeah, what’s up with your girl, O?” Raven asked, “I swear if I have to hear Clarke bitch about her for another day, I just might hobble out of here to hunt her down myself!”

“Fuck if I know.” Octavia shrugged, “I haven’t heard much from Lincoln either.”

“That just spells trouble.” Raven looked to Clarke who had returned to her doodling, “Have you tried going to Polis?”

“With what time?” Clarke shot back. “If I’m not at work, I’m here or at the station talking to the imbeciles that call themselves cops.”

“How many times have you gone in?” Octavia asked her eyebrow rising. “They only called me in once.”

“Too many to count.” Clarke sighed and put her notepad down. “It’s always something new they need and refuse to hear it over the phone.”

“Speaking of cops,” Raven nudged Octavia with her right foot. “How did you guys get away with kicking his ass? I’m still pissed that I missed out on that one.”

The feisty brunette shrugged, “I have my suspicions that a certain badass called in a few favors. Plus, he’s pleading insanity from what I heard.”

“How’d you hear that? I haven’t even been told that.” Clarke frowned hating the feeling that she was being kept out of the loop. 

“Uhm…Lexa told me?” Octavia winced as angry blue eyes stared at her. “Look, I only know because I overheard Lincoln talking to her the last time I went over to see him.”

Clarke looked away, shutting her mouth from making the snide comment she wanted to say. She knew it wasn’t her friend’s fault that Lexa was apparently avoiding her and knew she shouldn’t take it out on them. If anything else, she just got more annoyed by the whole situation.

“Come on, Griffindor, let’s get you out of here and into some fresh air.” Octavia said tugging on Clarke’s arm. 

“Yeah, it’s about time for my afternoon nap.” Raven grinned when Clarke rolled her eyes picking up the button that would allow her to inject herself with pain medicine that would make her go to sleep. Once she pressed the button it wouldn’t allow for her to do so again for another couple of hours.

“Alright.” Clarke resigned to her fate. “Text me when you wake up. I’ll come by on my way home to see you.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it.” Raven waved her off. “Go home and relax.”

Octavia waved her goodbye before nearly dragging Clarke out of the hospital room and towards the elevator. They walked in silence as they went to Octavia’s car as Clarke had decided to walk to the hospital instead of drive earlier. It wasn’t until they were driving away that Clarke finally asked where they were going.

“I figured it’d been awhile since we’ve gone on a Sushi date.” Octavia grinned turning up the music until it was blaring as she left the parking lot. 

Clarke couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face. While she loved her roommate and they had been through a lot together, it would never fail that Octavia knew just how to cheer her up with minimal effort. Within minutes she was rocking out with the brunette as they drove. 

“Hey! Where are we going?” Clarke shouted to be heard over the music when they headed onto the freeway.

“Polis!” Octavia shouted back laughing, “Figured we’d kill two birds with one stone! We can go eat then head over to Lexa’s!”

Clarke rolled her eyes at her friend’s assertiveness. There wasn’t any point in arguing or trying to get out of it neither as she was stuck in her car speeding towards the other city. So, she decided to stop thinking too much and go with the flow, sitting back and enjoying her time with Octavia, bobbing her head back and forth along with the thumping of the bass. She didn’t realize how much she had also missed her other best friend until that moment and was grateful she was there.

In no time they were in Polis and being seated at a table in a restaurant they had been to only once before. Their order was promptly taken and they both fell into conversation about anything and everything they could possibly think of, joking every so often and overall enjoying the others company. Their food was brought out and the conversation halted slightly as they began to stuff their faces. 

“So, tell me,” Octavia finished the bite in her mouth and took a sip of her drink, “Have you fallen hard for Heda?”

“Pretty damn hard.” Clarke muffled through her own mouthful of food. “She’s amazing and I like her very much.”

“Just like?” Octavia prodded as she stuffed another sushi roll into her mouth. 

Clarke’s eyes narrowed as she eyed her. “Are you asking as one of my best friends or as a Marine sister who is going to turn around and go tell her before I can?”

“Uh!” Octavia feigned a look of hurt as she dramatically looked away, “I can’t believe you’d think I’d stoop so low!”

“You would!”

“Would not!”

“Would too!”

“Will you answer the damn question already?” Octavia glared mockingly at her pointing her chopsticks at the blonde, “I know you, Griffin, so spill already.”

“Fine!” Clarke huffed, “I may or may not believe that I may or may not have more than just ‘like’ feelings for Lexa.”

“So, you love her then?” Octavia asked eating the last piece on her plate, smirking at her friend. 

“Maybe.” Clarke shuffled her remaining pieces around on her own plate contemplating her answer.

“You do, don’t you?” Amused eyes looked back at the blonde who just rolled her own.

“I don’t know if I should be at this point or not. I mean, we’ve only known each other for a short time, you know?” It wasn’t the first time Clarke had puzzled over her feelings for the brunette. She had spent plenty of time trying to figure out the way she felt and whether or not it was right or if she was moving way too fast. 

“God you two are so dense.” Octavia muttered before clamping her hand over her mouth with a look of surprise on her face.

“What?” Clarke’s attention snapped up to look at her, her own eyes wide, “What do you mean?”

“Nothing! I didn’t say a thing.” Hazel eyes avoided blue as she took a long pull of her drink.

“Did Lexa tell you she loved me?” Clarke asked pulling the cup away from her friend’s mouth.

“I didn’t say that!” Octavia shook her head fervently, but it was too late, she had let the cat out of the bag and there was no taking it back. “Shit!”

“She does, doesn’t she?” The blonde prodded, a cheesy grin spreading across her lips as she thought about it, but as quickly as the grin appeared it fell and a look of confusion replaced it, “If she does, then why has she been avoiding me this week?”

“I don’t know.” Shoulders shrugged and chopsticks pointed at Clarke’s plate, “You gonna finish those, or can I have them?”

The plate slid over to her and Clarke sat back a pensive look upon her face. She knew she couldn’t have done anything wrong to anger her girlfriend to cause the avoidance but in knowing this, she became troubled as to what the reason could possibly be. Knowing now that the Marine’s feelings ran deeper than she had admitted to Clarke further fueled her need to confront her and see what was going on. 

Octavia sighed once the plate was empty and pushed back in her seat to stand, “Come on. Let’s go get your answers.”

Her stomach was in knots. 

The drive was too short for her liking from the Sushi restaurant to Lexa’s house and Clarke had no time to prepare herself for the confrontation with the brunette. Octavia dropped her off at the end of the driveway, after saying she didn’t want to incur Lexa’s wrath since she told Clarke the nature of how much she cared for her. So that left the blonde with no choice but to make her presence known to Lexa, otherwise it would be a very long walk home. 

She knocked on the door and stood biting her lower lip, her nerves killing her as the seconds ticked by slowly waiting for it to be answered.

The door finally opened, and Lexa’s surprised face appeared, “Clarke! What are you doing here?”

“Why have you been avoiding me?” Clarke almost felt bad for the bite in her tone when the brunette winced and looked guilty at her. 

“I’m sorry, Prisa, I wasn’t trying to ignore you.” Lexa sighed and stepped aside motioning for the blonde to go inside, “C’mon in and we’ll talk.”

Clarke brushed past her, walking into the living room, and taking a seat on the couch and crossing her legs. She looked expectantly at the brunette who had shut the door and followed her into the room.

“I didn’t see your car-” Lexa began.

“Octavia dropped me off.” Clarke interrupted her. Her eyes could have burned right through the Marine. “So, explain yourself, Wookie.”

Lexa groaned and hung her head. She held up her finger in a ‘one moment’ motion and disappeared down the hall. A door opened and closed before she reappeared holding something wrapped in her hands. Well, two somethings as the Marine stepped closer.

“I was going to surprise you with this, seeing as a certain cousin forgot to give them to you.” Lexa handed over the smaller of the two items she had brought out. “There’s more to it, but I’ll start with these first.”

Clarke’s head tilted in confusion as she took it from the brunette, and she started to tear at the wrapping. Her eyes lit up as she realized what she was holding and what the other item could only be. A smile appeared as she pulled the paper off of the canvas and fingered the paint splatters. 

“I’d completely forgotten about these.” Clarke whispered, swallowing the lump in her throat as she looked at the addition to the canvas Lexa had done. 

“Do you like it?” Lexa asked.

On the canvas in her hands, not only were the paint splatters present from the morning they had shot the paint filled eggs, but their pictures they’d taken that day spread across it in various places. Clarke nodded and eyed the other larger canvas, setting the one in her hands to the side before reaching for it. 

Tearing at its wrapping, she noticed this one had been altered a bit as well. Once the words were read, Clarke let out a gasp at their meaning and tear-filled eyes sought the green ones she knew hadn’t stopped gazing at her. She dropped the canvas against the coffee table and launched herself into her girlfriend’s arms, choking back her emotions as she clung to the brunette.

“Well, this wasn’t the reaction I was hoping for.” Lexa gently teased as she held her. 

Clarke laughed as she pulled away and wiped the tears from her cheek, “God, I’m so sorry! I feel like such an ass!”

“You have every right to have been mad at me, Prisa.” The Marine brushed a blonde lock of hair behind her ear. 

“You said there was more?” Clarke said in almost a small voice. 

“Yeah, well this one is harder to explain without you being home.” Lexa said reaching into her pocket and removing her cell phone. “Do you know how hard it is to carry shit up three flights of stairs?”

“What did you do to my apartment?” Clarke asked her eyebrows furrowing as the brunette turned her phone to where blue eyes can look at it.

“Surprise?” Lexa smiled as Clarke looked back at her in shock.

“Is that seriously what I think it is?” 

“Well, unless you’re seeing something differ-”

Clarke didn’t let her finish as she kissed her soundly on the lips. Her emotions were everywhere, and she couldn’t help herself as the tears ran down her cheeks. She pulled away from the willing mouth against hers only to bury her face once more in Lexa’s neck. She smiled as she was held securely, the Marine’s hands around her waist. 

“I can’t believe you bought me a new bed!” Clarke laughed pulling away and kissing her again. “When did you do that?”

“I ordered it the morning after we slept on the couch.” Lexa smiled back at her shrugging, “Lincoln and I picked it up today and Octavia let us into the apartment so we could take the old one out and put the new one in.”

“Octavia let you in?” Clarke’s eyes narrowed, “She told me she hadn’t heard much from neither you nor Lincoln.”

“All part of the plan.” 

“Oh, was it all part of the plan to have her take me to Sushi and drop me off here too?”

“Errr…no. That one was all Octavia. I was going to meet you at your apartment tonight with the canvases and surprise you.”

Clarke’s eyes lit up as she pulled away and turned to look at the canvases again. Taking a seat on the couch as she was unsure as to whether her legs would support her for much longer. Unable to keep her eyes from rereading the words on the larger of the two she looked back up to Lexa and shook her head, “You are simply amazing.”

“So, you do like it then?” Lexa asked sitting beside her, biting her lower lip, causing the blonde to smile and lean over and kiss her.

“Yes, very much so.” Clarke nodded bringing their foreheads together. “I’m only a little disappointed that O told me before we got here.”

“She what?” Green eyes widened almost comically before narrowing, “I’m going to kill her!”

Clarke chuckled kissing her once again, “If it helps any, I feel the same way.”

“You do?” Lexa’s demeanor did a complete one-eighty as a huge grin appeared upon her face. 

“Yes, I do.” Clarke barely got the words out of her mouth before it was taken over by the Marine’s enthusiastic lips pressing against hers. 

Sliding her hands up around Lexa’s neck again, she tugged the brunette’s hair loose from its ponytail and threaded her fingers through it. Her lips parting as she deepened the kiss, her tongue meeting Lexa’s. She couldn’t help the soft moan that escaped her as she pushed herself more against the strong body next to her, reveling in the feel of being near her once more.

Lexa pulled away slightly, causing the blonde to whimper at the loss and her eyes to open. She smiled at the lust filled gaze looking back at her and brought her hand to brush along Lexa’s clenched jaw. 

“What is it, babe?” Clarke asked softly seeing the warring emotions within those expressive green eyes. 

“I don’t know if I can stop myself if this to goes any further.” Lexa bit her lower lip, her face completely showing an unguarded look. “I need to know if you’re ready.”

Clarke smiled and brought her lips to Lexa’s as her fingers lightly scratched at the back of the Marine’s neck, “I know you won’t hurt me.”

“Are you certain?” Lexa pushed a bit more.

Clarke sighed and brought their foreheads together, “I don’t remember what he did, just what I saw. I feel completely safe with you, Lexa. I know you’ll take care of me.”

“Always, Prisa.” The Marine vowed. “I just wanted you to be sure.”

“Oh, I’m sure.” Clarke nodded enthusiastically as she brought their lips together once more. Her heart swelled as she was pulled impossibly closer to the Marine, all thoughts aside from what this considerate and caring woman was doing to her, gone from mind. 

Their kisses became more intense, hands everywhere as they moved about one another’s body. Their shirts were quickly removed, clad only in their bras and pants, Lexa slid her hands beneath Clarke’s thighs, lifting the blonde up into her arms as she stood. 

“You enjoy this too much.” Clarke grinned in between kisses as she was carried towards the hall. 

“Maybe.” Lexa shrugged as she kicked her bedroom door open a little further as she walked through. “Does it bother you?”

“Not at all.” Clarke whispered tilting her head to the side as lips kissed down her neck. 

“Good.” Teeth grazed her skin as she was put down onto the bed. 

Blue eyes shut in bliss as those lips moved down her neck to her breast, tanned fingers and bruised cut up knuckles splayed over her stomach moving to reach beneath her to unclasp her bra. Her breath caught as the cool air of the room hit her exposed chest and she felt her already pert nipples tighten more, only to be covered by a hot mouth on a mission to devour her. 

Clarke’s hands moved over Lexa’s shoulders, sliding up her neck to tangle into her hair, pulling her closer to her heaving chest. When she felt hands sliding down her stomach, she began to squirm slightly in anticipation as lips soon followed. Her eyes shot open when Lexa kissed closer to her pant line. Looking down she was met with those beautiful green eyes looking up at her once more, a look of question forming without words. 

With a nod of her head, she lifted her hips enough for her pants and underwear to be removed and tossed somewhere on the floor. A shiver ran through her body as kisses were placed over the flushed skin of her thighs, moving closer and closer to where she needed Lexa the most. Her legs spread wider as the brunette situated herself between them.

“Yu laik meizen.” 

Clarke opened her mouth to respond, only to have a throaty moan escape instead as those lips pressed against her. Fingers gently moved to touch her most sensitive area, sliding effortlessly through the blonde’s pink folds from the wetness already seeping out of her. Hips bucked suddenly as her throbbing bundle of nerves was taken within Lexa’s teasing mouth causing the brunette to move a hand to her side, forcing her down as she attempted to buck again.

“Please…” Clarke panted looking pleadingly down her body, “Don’t tease.”

She growled in frustration as Lexa’s mouth left her, only to groan as two fingers slid into her when the brunette moved back up her body. Pulling her so their lips connected once more, Clarke moaned again when she tasted herself upon them. They easily fell into a rhythm as Lexa moved in and out of her, a thumb gently moving against her clit where the brunette’s lips once were. 

“We’ve all night.” Lexa whispered into Clarke’s ear as the blonde moved faster against her. “Ai hod yu in, Klark.”

Blue eyes filled with tears they gazed into green. There was no doubt in either of their minds of the sincerity of the statement based off the amount of love pouring out of the Marine. Blonde eyebrows furrowed as she swallowed hard, trying to find her voice.

“Teach me…how to say it back.” Clarke cupped her cheek. She tried to focus on the face of the woman above her as much as she could when she could feel the pressure building of her impending orgasm.

Lexa leaned down to her ear, “Ai hod…”

“Ai hod…” Clarke repeated breathily, her body tensing.

“…yu in…” 

Everything started feeling lighter as she held on tighter to the brunette.

“…yu in…” 

Her stomach began to ripple from the exertion of containing herself. 

“…seintaim.” 

“...seintaim!” Clarke cried out as she could hold back no more. 

Blue eyes shut tightly as she came undone. Her arms wrapped tightly around the strong body above her as she rode out wave after wave of the pleasure coursing through her. She could hear Lexa whispering affectionately into her ear, but couldn’t make out what she was saying as everything sounded muffled and distant. 

As the last wave washed through her, her body went slack into the bed. Not in any condition to argue, she allowed Lexa to move her hand from its comfortable spot between her legs and pull her into her arms as the Marine laid back onto the bed. 

“Ai hod yu in seintaim, Leksa.” Clarke managed to say when she found her voice again. 

If she would have had her eyes open, she would have seen the warmest smile grace the brunette’s lips right before a kiss was placed on her forehead. Her body however had other plans as her eyes remained shut and her breathing became deeper. 

“Rest, Prisa.” Lexa whispered her fingers running up and down the blondes back.

“Just a lil bit.” Clarke yawned nuzzling into the shoulder her head rested on. “Then it’s your turn.”

She felt Lexa chuckle beneath her, “Like I said, we’ve all night.”

Out in the living room, moonlight streamed down from a skylight onto the bigger of the two canvases, illuminating the picture and words upon it. In the middle of the paint splattered canvas rested a picture of the two wrapped in each other’s arms, smiling at one another, their eyes connected. 

Below the picture read ‘My Heart’s Desire’.


	22. Chapter 22

She knew being intimate with Clarke was going to bring everything to a whole new level. What she didn’t know was that it would bring her already erotic dreams of the blonde there as well. Fingers slid down her body, tracing intricate patterns over tanned flesh until they reached their destination between her legs. A small moan escaped her lips as she panted. She wasn’t much of a moaner but what this woman was doing to her felt way too good. 

When a tongue soon followed those deft fingers, her body shot up realizing this wasn’t a dream at all and she glared mockingly at the head moving between her legs, only to have them roll upward and shut as her body fell back onto the bed. 

“You’ll be the death of me yet.” She growled hoarsely, biting her lower lip as her clit was taken between Clarkes lips and gently sucked on. “God, I’ve created a monster!”

She felt the blonde chuckle against her, the vibration against her sensitive bundle of nerves sending her higher. As fingers soon entered her, rocking in and out, her hips soon began moving of their own accord. She met the rhythm set by those surprisingly skillful fingers and when her body began to tense, she almost growled in frustration. 

After taking turns bringing each other to new heights, she wasn’t surprised at how quickly Clarke picked up on how to touch her in just the right places to make her come undone. They were so in tune with the others body, fitting perfectly together. Opening her eyes slightly and looking to the window, she noted the beginning rays of sunlight, indicating it was early morning. And what a way to wake up. 

Her eyes shut suddenly as her whole body quaked. Her hands gripped the sheets on either side of her to anchor herself from flying up. She was already lying in the middle of the bed and the blonde was teetering close to the edge at the end. If she moved, she knew Clarke would be on her ass and as funny as it might have been, she didn’t want to do that to her. 

As the last waves of pleasure rocked through her, she felt lips kiss their way up her body until they came to a stop at her collarbone. When she finally could catch her breath and her heart slowed to an even beat, a green eye opened to see amused blue eyes gazing up at her as the blonde rested her chin on her chest. 

“Morning, Wookie.” Clarke grinned kissing her collarbone again. “Sleep well?”

“What sleep?” Lexa smirked, “Someone kept me up all night.”

“In my defense, it wasn’t only me.” Clarke feigned being hurt, “I believe part of this was your fault.”

“What? ME? Never!” Lexa threw her head to the side sighing dramatically. The effects of her doing so were thwarted when a yawn interrupted her dramatization sending the blonde into a fit of giggles. 

These were made only worse when they both heard a monster of a growl come from Clarke’s stomach, “I need food.”

“Is that what that noise indicated?” Lexa grunted when the blonde pushed off her stomach as she moved to get up off the bed. 

“Be nice!” Clarke growled playfully as she grabbed Lexa’s t-shirt off the floor and slipped it on. 

Laying on her side and propping her head up by her elbow, green eyes roamed the blonde’s body hungrily, a saucy grin appearing across her lips. Enjoying the image of her half clothed girlfriend wearing her t-shirt in front of her.

“Don’t do that!” Clarke moved to grab a pillow and pushed it in her girlfriend’s face. “I need nourishment.”

Lexa started chuckling and pulled the pillow away just in time to see the sexy view of Clarke’s ass swaying slightly as the blonde moved towards the bedroom door. “But I could’ve given you some nourishment, Prisa!”

“Food, Wookie! I need FOOD!” Clarke yelled back at her as she made her way down the hall. 

Sighing, the brunette leaned back. She would’ve relaxed, but the urge to pee became insistent. Getting up she disappeared into her bathroom to relieve herself and decided a shower was a must. While the water warmed up, she stripped the bedding and tossed it in the bin to be washed before remaking the bed and then heading into the shower. 

She wasn’t in the water long before the curtain was pulled back slightly and she was met by Clarke’s inquisitive face, “What are you doing?”

Her eyebrow rose, “Last I checked this was a shower, what do they call it in your language?”

“Ha! Funny!” Clarke rolled her eyes, “I meant why are you showering?”

Lexa tilted her head back, running her fingers through her hair, “If I need to answer your question, I’m going to seriously question your hygiene habits.”

Clarke growled at her making the Marine chuckle, “If I need to spell it out for you, I’m going to seriously question your intelligence.”

“Oh, ouch!” Lexa grabbed her heart feigning a look of pain. “That was just mean.”

“And your comment wasn’t?” 

“Touché.” 

“Lexaaaaaa.”

“Clarkeeeeee.”

“Gah! It’s too early for this!” 

Lexa laughed as the curtain was shut once more before she heard the blonde stomp away. Deciding not to take her time as she had originally planned, she was in the middle of rinsing her shampoo from her hair when she heard Clarke yell from her room.

“You even changed the sheets?! You waste no time getting rid of any trace of our post coitus!” 

“All the more reason for us to dirty the sheets again, Prisa.” Lexa grinned when she heard a loud thump and pulled the curtain back to look into her room. 

“I’m ok!” Clarke was sprawled out laughing on the floor causing the Marine to laugh as well. “You’re evil, Wookie!”

“Oh, but you know how evil I can be.” Lexa winked at her before turning back to her shower to finish with her hair. When she was done, she stepped out and grabbed her towel. After drying her hair some, she wrapped it around her before walking into the room and rolling her eyes as her girlfriend sat on her bed cross legged eating out of a large Tupperware bowl she was sure had her remnants of her lasagna in it.

“What?” Clarke looked back at her and damned if this woman wasn’t the cutest with her ‘I’ve just been thoroughly fucked’ look and wearing the Marine’s shirt. 

“Nothing.” Lexa smiled at her and sat beside her nodding towards the bowl in her hands, “Did you at least heat it up?”

“Of course! I’m no heathen!” The fork the blonde was using was turned from her mouth to offer the bite to Lexa.

Taking the fork into her mouth, green eyes never left blue as she made a show of licking the utensil clean. She smirked when Clarke shuffled slightly and swallowed audibly. Removing the fork from the unmoving hand and into her own, Lexa dipped it into the container for another bite and offered it to the blonde. Watching her girlfriend’s mouth, she wasn’t let down as she was teased back in kind for what she’d just done. 

In no time the container was emptied and set off to the side before their bodies came together in a passionate embrace. It didn’t take long for the clean sheets to get dirty once more as Lexa predicted. 

“Hello?”

Lexa heard the voice call out from the living room, but her mouth was otherwise preoccupied. From the noises Clarke was making, she was pretty sure her girlfriend hadn’t heard their friend, and she knew she was close.

“Seriously, guys?” Octavia called out her voice still in the living room. “I’ll be out here when you’re done!”

“O! You fucking pervert!” Clarke growled in annoyance causing Lexa to chuckle. So maybe she did hear her. “Get out!”

Music blaring from the TV was their response causing the Marine to chuckle again when fists hit the sheets in frustration. Deciding she’d teased the blonde enough, and considering Octavia was waiting out in the living room, Lexa slid her fingers through her girlfriend’s slick folds and started pumping them in and out of her. Her mouth never wavered from its gentle assault on Clarke’s clit and she almost hummed in contentment when she felt the thoroughly teased body beneath her tense and spasm. 

When Clarke slumped back into the bed, she slowly extracted herself from her. She briskly went to the bathroom to wash up as best she could before putting on some clothes. Chuckling when she was done and Clarke hadn’t budged a hair, she leaned over and kissed her.

“Join us when you’re ready.” She cupped the flushed cheek, running her thumb over it before kissing her again. “I’m gonna go kill her.”

“Save some for me.” The dazed blonde croaked hoarsely.

“My pleasure.” Lexa winked as hooded blue eyes looked back at her.

Walking down the hall, she was surprised to see that it wasn’t only Octavia who’d arrived, but Anya sat in her living room as well. She smacked the back of the feisty brunette’s head that was bobbing up and down to the beat of the still blaring music, before grabbing the remote from beside her and turning it down.

“Ah! Thank you!” Anya stuck her finger in her ear and wiggled it back and forth. “I was about to go deaf if I had to listen to that any longer.”

“It’s better than hearing those two go at it.” Octavia shot back grinning at Lexa who had moved into the kitchen. “It’s been three days since anyone has heard from you two.”

“It’s my house, Octavia.” Lexa shot back before furrowing her eyebrows in a confused look before shrugging, “Has it? Oh, well.”

“Heda in hodnes…ai laik em.” Octavia laughed as green eyes shot her a glare. She shrugged and pointed at the canvases still sitting where they had been placed days ago.

“Frag em op.” Clarke grumbled as she appeared from the bedroom.

“Ooooh, someone’s been learning!” The feisty brunette on the couch grinned cheekily and winked at the blonde. “But you can’t kill me when what I say is true.”

“Why are you two here interrupting our hibernation?” Lexa finally asked taking the attention off her girlfriend who joined her in the kitchen. She pushed the second glass of juice she had poured, over to her without a word and smiled at the grateful look she had been given.

“While you two have been shacking up and not answering your phones,” Octavia rolled her eyes, “Raven has been improving and the doctors are talking about discharging her if we can find a suitable place for her to go.”

“What do you mean ‘suitable place’?” Clarke asked as she moved to sit on the couch. 

Lexa decided to make a few sandwiches and began pulling out what she needed as she listened in on the conversation. 

“Well, you guys live in an apartment on the third floor. The doctor’s say that’s a no go since she won’t be able to use her leg for awhile and when she does it’ll be in a brace which would be hard to maneuver up and down those steps.” Octavia glanced over to Anya who Lexa had noticed was quiet and kept her eyes on her phone.

“Anya?” Lexa called out getting the woman to look up. “Don’t tell me you want to play U-Haul lesbian?”

“Hey, first of all, I’m bisexual.” Anya glared at the brunette in the kitchen, “Secondly, I wasn’t going to offer her my house.”

Realization dawned on Lexa as she thought about why Anya would be sitting in on this conversation and she looked to Clarke who was eyeing Anya suspiciously. “Don’t you still have a rental in Arkadia?”

“Yes.” Anya nodded finally looking to the blonde who was looking at her intently. “I was going to offer Raven the use of my rental while she heals. It’s a one story, three bedroom two bath house.”

“Seriously?” Clarke’s eyes were wide as she looked at the dirty blonde in disbelief. “You’d do that for her?”

“For you both.” Anya shrugged. “That is if you want out of your apartment, so you aren’t there alone.”

“Oh, I’m sure Heda would keep her preoccupied.” Octavia chimed in laughing when Clarke leaned over and punched her. “What? You two are already shacking up for days on end! It’s only a matter of time before you’re living together.”

“Shof op, Oktevia.” Lexa hissed as she smacked the woman’s head again before handing her girlfriend a plate with their sandwiches on it. She turned back to the kitchen to grab the bag of chips she’d pulled down before returning to sit by the blonde’s side.

“I would have to check with my complex and see what we can work out.” Clarke’s face fell as she contemplated the offer. “I believe we still have a couple months left on our lease.”

“Talk to them and let me know.” Anya said looking back to her phone that vibrated, “I’ve already mentioned it to Raven and she’s ok with it if you are.”

As Lexa bit into her sandwich, she watched the expressions changing on the face of the woman beside her. She almost sighed in relief when the final change was one of gratitude and Clarke nodded at Anya before turning back to her food. 

“Those are some pretty markings on your neck.” 

“Shof op, Oktevia!” Both Lexa and Clarke said at the same time causing all four of them to crack up laughing.

Lexa lay panting, attempting to catch her breath after the earth-shattering orgasm Clarke had just given her. She honestly had no clue how they still couldn’t keep their hands off each other after spending days of doing nothing but having marathon sexcapades, as Octavia had put it when they kicked her and Anya out a couple hours after they’d arrived. 

Clarke kissed her soundly before placing her head on her shoulder and shutting her eyes as she enjoyed the last bits of her own orgasm she’d had right before the brunette. 

“You know…” Lexa licked her lips, “…we really need to join the living again.”

“But this is so much better.” She could feel the pout against her and grinned.

“I can’t argue that.” The Marine shifted down slightly, bringing Clarke face to face with her, “But you have a job you’ve been neglecting, as do I.”

“Ughhhh!” Clarke groaned throwing herself back onto the bed. “I don’t want to adult yet!”

Lexa chuckled as she propped her head up. “You have clients who need you and your talented hands.”

“I’d rather use my talented hands on you.” Clarke smiled cheekily.

“I think you’ve used them enough.” 

“Hardly!”

“Clarke.”

“Lexaaa.”

“Prisa!”

“Wookie!”

Lexa growled playfully as her fingers moved to the sensitive area on Clarke’s side, tickling her mercilessly. They both started laughing as the blonde squirmed and moved away, only realizing at the last minute how close they were to the edge of the bed before her hand landed on the bed when Clarke disappeared as she fell to the floor.

“Clarke!” Lexa peeked over the side of the bed at the surprised look on her girlfriend’s face, before she sheepishly pulled away when those blue eyes narrowed glaring at her. “Uh…I’m sorry?”

The glare didn’t last long before Clarke started laughing hysterically, causing the Marine to burst into laughter until tears streamed down her cheeks. 

“I know I didn’t want to adult yet, but you didn’t have to push me out of bed!” Clarke giggled as she sat up, her arms propping her up from behind, “Seriously, Lexa, how could you?”

“It’s not like I did it on purpose!” She wiped at her eyes to remove the tears still falling down her face, “Are you ok?”

“Oh, sure now you ask.” Clarke scoffed rolling her eyes, “I think my dignity took a hit but otherwise I’m fine. Thanks for asking.”

Lexa laid her head on its side close to her girlfriend, sticking her lip out in a put and making it tremble slightly. This caused blue eyes to roll again as the blonde looked away in annoyance. The brunette attentively reached out and brushed a blonde lock of hair behind Clarke’s ear before saying, “Hey.”

No response. 

“Heyyy.”

Still no response.

“Heyyyyyyy.”

“What?!” Clarke growled looking back at her.

“BUBBLES!” Lexa growled back. 

That did it. Clarke’s face immediately broke into a smile, and her arms gave way as she fell back laughing, clutching her stomach as she shook. Lexa laughed as well until her face hurt from smiling so damn much. She couldn’t help it. This woman brought out a different side of her that she rarely let anyone see and she loved it. 

“Bubbles?” Clarke finally managed after her fit of laughter. “Seriously?”

“You cannot stay mad at someone for long if you yell ‘bubbles’ angrily!” Lexa grinned as she moved to sit up and offered her hand to her girlfriend. “It’s impossible.”

“I’ll be sure to test that theory out a time or two.” Clarke stated as she took the offered hand and moved back onto the bed. 

As they got comfortable again, Lexa wrapped her arm securely around her, “So, are you going to take Anya up on her offer?”

“If it’ll mean an easier time for Raven’s recovery, yeah.” Clarke sighed nuzzling into her. “I’m just worried about what the property management will say about us breaking our lease.”

“We’ll get to it when we get there, Prisa. Don’t worry.” Lexa kissed her forehead and started to run her fingers up and down her back. “If you want, we can go talk to them today.”

“That would require us getting out of bed.” Clarke grumbled.

“Adulting, remember?” The Marine chuckled as her side was pinched, “Ow! Hey!”

“Sshhh.” 

A soft sigh was felt against tanned skin and she couldn’t help but to kiss the blonde’s forehead again. “We’ll give it an hour, yeah?”

“An hour.” Clarke repeated her eyes already fluttering shut. 

Later that day they would both enter the office of the property management in charge of the apartments the roommates lived in. After explaining the situation, they received great news that neither Raven nor Clarke would have to pay a penalty for breaking their lease, due to the nature of the severance. It had been all over the news and was well known throughout Arkadia, even though it had been awhile since the incident occurred and the arrest made. 

So, with the help of their group of friends, the apartment was emptied, and everything was moved out and into the new house by the end of the month. Raven was brought to the house two days after the official move, and couldn’t be happier to be out of the hospital. They had a housewarming party for the roommates, inviting those closest to them for drinks and pizza.

Clarke was sitting in her recliner when she opened her text messages and after opening one conversation in particular, her eyes filled with tears.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Raven asked from the couch beside her getting Lexa’s attention who had been standing by the sliding glass door across the room.

“It’s nothing.” Clarke shrugged them off as the brunette was immediately at her side, a look of concern upon her face. 

Lexa’s eyes went to the phone in her hands and an eyebrow rose. She took it in her own hand as it was turned for her to read and a smile spread across her face. 

Head up.  
Eyes open.  
If you want to know where your heart is,  
Look where your mind goes when it wanders.

“I now know what he meant.” Clarke said softly.

Lexa took her into her arms and held her close, “Ai hod yu in, Prisa.” She whispered in her ear.

“Ai hod yu in seintaim, Wookie.”


	23. Epilogue

A lot changed for Clarke. While her studio still ran smoothly and her clientele didn’t waver much while she helped her roommate recover, she turned more towards her pyrography than her massage therapy to keep her busy. It also made it easier, as she could be working on her projects while still helping Raven, and brought in just as much income if not slightly more than her profession. 

Of course, she didn’t spend all her time helping her roommate. Anya proved herself to be not only a good friend but a great girlfriend too when the two finally made it official, by coming over and staying with Raven so Clarke could go spend time with Lexa. This worked well, until eventually Anya was staying longer and longer with Raven and Clarke with Lexa. After Octavia pointed this out to the two couples, moving arrangements were made and their situations became permanent. 

However, this was short lived as after an extended leave from duty, the inevitable happened and Trikru was called back out on a mission that lasted longer than what they’d hoped for. Clarke stayed with Raven, who by then was up and about with her leg brace. Months passed by with both roommates missing their other halves, keeping in contact with them whenever they could. And eventually, even after Raven was fully recovered and could walk again, they stayed together until the day would come that Trikru would return home. 

It was the beginning of summer and Raven insisted on having a barbeque for their friends and family. Seeing no viable reason to argue with her, Clarke agreed. They decided on using Lexa’s house in Polis as it had a bigger yard and before she knew it, everything was set up and the grill was going out back. People started arriving and everyone was having a great time. 

“Are you sure you guys aren’t worried about the weather?” Abby asked eyeing the sky above them. “I heard there is supposed to be rain.”

“That’s what the awnings for, Mom.” Clarke brushed off her mother’s concern. 

“Yeah, Mrs. G! We got this!” Raven laughed as she hip bumped Jake who was manning the grill. “How’s it coming with the grub, Mr. G?”

“About the same as I said two minutes ago when you asked me.” Jake replied feigning irritation as he looked at his wife, “Honey, I think you need to check this one for brain damage.”

“Ha ha, very funny.” Raven grumbled disappearing into the house. 

“You asked for it, Rae!” Clarke called after her laughing as she turned to the conversation Jasper and Monty were having not far from the porch. 

She made her way around the yard, feeling oddly at ease in her role as hostess, conversing with her friends and family as they all waited for the food to be done. When it was, plates were stacked with goodies and everyone spread out to eat while still keeping up their conversations. 

“Clarke!” Abby called out. “I really think everyone should get inside!”

Seconds after making that statement, the skies let loose with such a downpour that not everyone was able to move fast enough to avoid getting wet. Clarke started laughing hysterically as bodies rushed towards the awning and into the house to avoid getting soaked any further than they already had been.

“Clarke, get inside! You’ll catch your death!” Abby shouted to be heard over the loud torrents of rain pounding down on top of them.

Instead of listening, Clarke’s eyes shut as she tilted her head skyward, arms spread wide as she spun around in circles. It was still warm out and the rain felt good against her skin. She was drenched within seconds, but she couldn’t help the elated feeling she had. Even when she spun too quickly and ended up on her ass in the mud that the yard had quickly turned to as the rain was coming down too quickly for the grass to soak it in. 

“Griffindor, you’re one crazy woman!” Raven yelled as she came to her friend’s side to help her up. “But you’re my kind of crazy!”

“You know it!” Clarke winked as she pulled on the darker woman’s arm causing her to lose her footing and fall flat on her ass as well. 

“You bitch!” Raven cried out as they both howled in laughter. 

As they finally managed to stand up and catch their breath, their eyes moved to underneath the awning where they found four Marines staring at them in amusement. Clarke grinned when she saw green eyes upon her and shrugged at the raised eyebrow she received. 

“This is what we get for leaving them alone for too long, Heda.” Octavia stated looking to Lexa. 

Raven nearly slipped and fell again as she took off from Clarke’s side, launching herself into Anya’s arms as they shared their first embrace since Trikru had left. 

Clarke stood smirking at the brunette who hadn’t taken her eyes off her since they’d arrived moments before. She crossed her arms, her eyes daring the Marine to make the first move. When neither budged, everyone began to look back and forth at the two as if watching a tennis match. 

“Come on, Wookie.” Clarke taunted holding her arms out wide, “Or are you afraid to get a little wet?”

“Never.” Lexa grinned as she immediately started for the blonde who had started towards her at the same time. They met halfway, arms wrapping about one another tightly as Lexa lifted Clarke into her arms. 

“God, I missed you.” Clarke breathed into Lexa’s ear before burying her nose into its favorite spot in the crook of her neck. 

“I missed you, too.” Lexa replied holding her close. After a second, their lips connected in a short but sweet kiss, mindful of the many pairs of eyes upon them, including Clarke’s parents. “So, this is what happens when I leave? You throw parties in our house?”

“It was Raven’s idea.” Blue eyes gazed into green that were full of mirth. “Blame her.”

“Thanks, Griffindor!” Raven spat, hearing the accusation.

“I will deal with you later.” Lexa growled playfully, throwing the woman a look before turning back to the woman in her arms, “But right now, I’ve something more important to do.”

Clarke tilted her head in confusion as she was placed down onto her feet. Her hands were taken within the strong ones of the brunette who had looked back towards the group watching them. Because her eyes were trained on the woman before her, she missed the nod of her father’s head and huge smile that crept upon her mother’s face. Green eyes found her again and she opened her mouth to ask what was happening when a finger pressed against her lips.

“I’ll let you in on a little secret.” Lexa started as she smiled back at her, “Raven knew we were coming back, and all of this was planned.”

Clarke looked back at her friend who shrugged as she grinned back at her. Looking back to her girlfriend, she was still slightly confused, and her face must have expressed it as Lexa smiled reassuringly at her. 

“I asked everyone here today to be a witness to a very important question I have to ask you.”

“No way!” Clarke’s eyes widened in sudden realization as to what was happening. Her eyes immediately filled with tears as her hands moved to cover her mouth. 

“Ai hod yu in, Prisa.” Lexa said, her hand falling to her right pocket, “We have been through a lot together. The good, the bad, the ugly…You’ve stood by my side while I’ve been gone, giving me the strength and reason to make sure I come back alive.”

“When we first met, it was a trying time in your life, losing a friend isn’t ever easy. But in a way I’m grateful for his passing, because that brought me to you. From the time I looked at you up there, speaking to him, I thought you were beautiful and needed to know who you were. I needed to get to know you and find out if you were just as amazing as you seemed.”

“And I wasn’t let down.” Lexa pulled the blue velvet box from her pocket and fell to one knee. “We already have a lot of memories together and I want to continue creating new ones with you for the rest of our lives. I can’t imagine doing that with anyone else. I can’t imagine not waking up and feeling you next to me, seeing you first thing…I don’t have much and I know being with me won’t be easy, but if I could give you the world I would in a heartbeat.”

She opened the box and looked up at her, “But for now, this ring is all I could afford. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

When asked later, Clarke would recount standing in the mud, rain dripping off her as it came down upon them. She would recount the way they looked into one another’s eyes with such love and devotion that the tears wept happily down her face. She would also recount that with the slightly nod of her head, the look that overcame the Marines face as she launched herself from her knee, picking up the blonde and spinning around in circles. 

But of course, as with all things good, Lexa lost her footing and barely had time to turn her body enough to land on her back in the mud with Clarke on top of her. Cheers and laughter rang out as those beneath the awning decided what the hell and joined the two in celebration. Lexa remembered the box in her hand and removed the ring to slip onto Clarke’s finger. 

“You like it?” Lexa asked as blue eyes looked at it.

“I love it.” Clarke smiled back at her. The ring was a simple small cut diamond engagement ring, but the blonde wouldn’t have cared if the Marine proposed to her with aluminum, she still would have said yes. “Ai hod yu in, Wookie.” 

“Ai hod yu in seintaim, Prisa. ” Lexa replied kissing her.

“Come on guys get a room!” Raven laughed pushing Clarke off the top of Lexa.

“Hey!” Lexa growled glaring at the darker woman.

“Oh, shut it, Heda!” Octavia laughed as she reached down and grabbed a glob of mud before throwing it. It hit its target, and everyone fell silent as Lexa wiped the brown muck from her face. 

“O, I think you should run.” Clarke was the first to speak.

“Shit!” Octavia tried to scramble away but found no purchase for her feet as she slipped and slid all over, eventually face planting into the mud where Lexa was quickly upon her rubbing the muck in her face.

And so was the beginning of a very hysterical mud fight. Anyone in attendance outside was quickly nailed by flying mudballs and before the rain stopped, everyone was covered. Someone had even gone and gotten the hose out, turning it on to create more mud before Lexa got a hold of it and began spraying anyone that came too close to her. 

The rain did eventually come to a stop and the sun shone brightly, warming everything up. Clarke took the hose from her Marine and hosed her down so the brunette could go retrieve towels. All in all, what started off as an okay afternoon and her missing Lexa, turned into a wonderful engagement party. 

Looking down at her hand that held the ring, a smile spread across her lips. She was going to be Mrs. Clarke Woods. Or should it be the Marine being Mrs. Alexandria Griffin? She shrugged at her inner thoughts. Time would tell and that would be another conversation to be had at a later date. 

For now, she would enjoy the company of her fiancée being home.  
…

FINI  
…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been over four years since I wrote this story. It was great going through and rereading it myself and making minor adjustments/edits to it. Since revisiting it, I've considered creating another chapter specifically for their wedding. I'm on the fence though. Let me know in the comments if you enjoyed this story and would like to see a Clexa Wedding. If there's enough interest I may just do it. Lol  
> Mochof and May We Meet Again  
> -Rhydian Knight


End file.
